Hollow Victories
by yncarn8
Summary: What if Riker bore a grudge after Hollow Pursuits? What if Reg meets the right girl at the wrong time? Set after Best of Both Worlds. AU reboot of my Barclay-centric Trekverse Chapter 14 - Girl talk - Deanna and Taryn sit down for a natter. Reg gets a long overdue lesson in anatomy and female logic.
1. Pastures New

I own nothing, so should Paramount sue me they'd get sod all, but all the same I wish to state I do not own any characters from Star Trek be they the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager or Enterprise. I am merely borrowing them for a while and promise to give them a wash in warm soapy water before I return them. I am not making any financial gain from this story.

However, Taryn Prior is mine along with the many other original characters in this story.

This story is an AU tangent based on my series _A Most Unlikely Hero_. One of the possible universes from Volume 3 _Tempus Fugit_. It features characters created by me for my Barclay universe, but is a stand alone story.

It's a WIP, but around 2 thirds complete so far. This story (and others it spawns) will feature shorter, titled chapters (because I feel like it.) I hope to post twice a week, although this may slow as a lot is going on for me at the moment.

 **Pastures new**

Stardate 44005.6

2366 AD

Barclay sighed as he packed his things, it barely seemed a day ago he unpacked when he transferred from the Zhukov. He paused as the door chimed, sorely tempted to pretend he was out but he knew it wouldn't wash. He could see the irony. No one ever visited him in his quarters since the day he enlisted. He finally had… perhaps not friends, not yet but Geordi had been kind to him as had… He drove the thought of her out of his mind. It was pointless, hopeless. He'd always known that deep down but despite Counsellor Troi knowing about his holodeck habit and her role in it she had been nothing but supportive and fought his corner. Despite the fact it put her offside with the First Officer, rumoured to be her ex-boyfriend. Riker had showed himself to be the pretty mannequin in a fancy uniform he had always suspected he was. Word of Barclay's sawn off version of him had spread throughout the ship, although not by Barclay's doing. Someone managed to undelete Barclay's programs and the Midget Musketeer was spread through every program like a virus. He popped up on the beach at Risa, the P'Jem monastery, even a battle simulation. The re-engineered dwarf turned out to be a parting gift form a pretty Engineering tech the libidinous Commander had wined, dined, more than likely sixty-nined, pumped, dumped and unceremoniously rotated from the Enterprise crew. For a man famed for his sense of humour Riker turned out to be an extremely poor sport. His first act as Captain was to levy charges against Barclay with Starfleet Command while Picard's seat was barely cold and nanoprobes were still colonising his body.

Never mind the fact Reg solved the mystery of the malfunctions plaguing the Enterprise and saved the ship.

Never mind the fact his conduct had been nothing short of exemplary since.

Never mind he'd held his nerve against the Borg.

"Come in." he replied tiredly and didn't even look up to see who it was.

"I nearly didn't recognise you without your clothes on." Beverly commented.

He choked and looked up. "Excuse me?" he blushed.

"You're out of uniform. It's an old joke." Dr Crusher quirked her lip. "You make a handsome civilian Mr Barclay." She winced perceptibly as he flinched at the word civilian and he scratched at the collar of his cotton shirt. He knew she didn't mean to strike a nerve but wearing civilian clothing did make him feel naked. He missed his uniform, he missed his combadge and he even missed his issued sidearm, despite the fact he loathed the phaser and had never even fired it. "I came to remind you I need to see you in sickbay before you disembark."

"W…why?" Reg asked incredulously. "That's n…not standard p…procedure."

"We've got an outbreak of Arethian Flu in the Nursery. Starbase 64 want everyone leaving the ship to be screened." Beverly explained. "It's a precaution Mr Barclay."

"I…I don't g…go anywhere near the Nursery. People don't exactly like the idea of their k…kid's being around the Holof…f…fu.." Beverly touched his arm to calm him. Alongside the official campaign to oust him from his commission there had been an unofficial and far more sinister movement. Whispers and name-calling was the least of it, none of which could be linked back to the First Officer of course and many of the crew believed he was some kind of sex-offender. Dogs, cats, tribbles, children, no one was safe in his howling holographic sexual rampages if the scuttlebutt was to be believed. Even if he hadn't been dishonourably discharged his place on the ship was becoming untenable. Since his discharge no one cared about the real reasons, it was a guilty verdict with no trial. To think he thought he couldn't feel worse when everyone behaved as though he didn't exist.

"I don't object to you being around my kid." she told him gently. "You've worked alongside people with children in the nursery. As I said, it's procedure." She eyed him appraisingly and quirked her lip. "It's also an order from the only person on board that can still give you an order. Medical grounds." She prodded his chest and smiled. "It won't take long, I promise."

…

"No you don't." Geordi said as Reg turned to leave on seeing the group gathered in Sickbay. He grabbed his arm and dragged him in, taking his bag from him.

"Y…you d…don't have to do this." Barclay protested. "I r…really d…don't want any hoopla."

"We know, we just wanted the opportunity to say good bye." Counsellor Troi smiled and led him towards Beverly's office.

"Yeah, not everyone is happy you're leaving." Wesley added.

"It seems unfair given the effort you have made to improve your conduct." Data added.

Geordi handed him a padd. "It's not much, but we've all written personal letters of reference for you. We can't as officers but… maybe it will help."

Reg was genuinely touched. "Thank you." he whispered. "I really appreciate it."

"What will you do?" Beverly asked.

"I'm going to visit with my Dad for a while. I've no idea after that." he said sadly.

"Give yourself time to adjust." Deanna advised.

"I'll have plenty of that I suppose." He forced a smile.

…

"I feel awful Data." Wesley whispered as Barclay opened a gift Guinan had handed him. "I started the whole Broccoli thing."

"You are not responsible." Data assured him. "You have not been party to the other rumours that have been circulating. In fact, I have heard you defend him at every opportunity."

"I just… It's not how I ever saw Starfleet. I always thought it was fair and noble. This has all been…" Wesley trailed off lost for words. "Barclay's just different. He doesn't deserve to be driven out."

"I am inclined to agree." Data stated, both of them acutely aware that what hung unspoken was that they were both different. Could they be next?

The group of officers and crew accompanied him as he walked towards the air lock. Suddenly they froze as a group of crewmen stood in the way menacingly.

"Look, it's the Holofucker, and he doesn't have his uniform to protect him anymore." One of them grinned.

"Stand down." Data stated as he stepped forward. "That is an order Mr Preston." he added as the group did not disperse and Preston shaped up to him.

"What are you going to do about it?" the man sneered. "Call security?" He snorted. "Worf's on our side and so's the Captain."

"I thought you wanted him off the ship?" Wesley stated, "So get out of the way and let him leave, you moron."

"Oh, we'll make sure he leaves." Preston grinned and reached out to grab Barclay. Preston screamed and fell to his knees, his finger gripped by Data's thumb and forefinger.

"Assaulting a civilian is a serious offence. You have two options. Either I release you and you and your associates return to your quarters. Or I release you and should you impede Mr Barclay's progress further I shall drag you directly to the Judge Advocate General's office on this Starbase for them to hear his complaint and our witness statements. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee which of your appendages I will be able to obtain a secure grip on. Do I make myself clear?" he stated calmly.

"We have shore leave. You can't send us to our quarters." one of the other's protested.

"Thank you for clarifying the situation Mr Hargrove." Data stated, ignoring the wriggling crewman in his grasp. "Your leave is cancelled. You and your accomplices are confined to quarters for the duration of our stay at Starbase 63 for defying a direct order."

"We'll go, we'll go." Preston pleaded. He backed away as Data released him, clutching his finger. "Wait till Riker hears about this. You'll be sorry android."

Data graciously waved his friends through.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" Geordi grinned as he fell into step with Data who raised a brow at his friend.

…

There was another group at the entrance to the airlock. This time Riker and Worf were among them, they remained silent as they approached, their expressions grim.

"Good luck Mr Barclay." Data said as he shook Reg's hand followed by each of them in turn apart from Beverly and Guinan who both gave him a hug causing him to blush scarlet, leaving Deanna.

"Be sure and write to let me know how you are?" the Counsellor smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I will." he assured her with a smile.

"Clear this airlock." Riker ordered tersely. The bastard had got what he wanted and he still couldn't leave it alone.

Barclay grabbed the Counsellor and dipped her, kissing her passionately. He had no idea at all where he got the courage, bloody mindedness he suspected. To be honest he didn't care. This was his last opportunity for a smooch with the woman of his dreams and he was damn well taking it.

"I said clear this airlock." Riker bellowed.

"Sorry, it was that or punch him in the face." Reg whispered as he stroked her cheek tenderly and she looked at him with a shocked expression.

"I understand." she replied with a smile and kissed him softly on the lips, realising he hadn't kissed her out of transference, unrequited love or passion. It was simply revenge. Barclay shifted his bag on his shoulder noticing the scowl on Riker's face as he muttered in the ear of Lieutenant Barrymore, an officer from Stella Cartography that Barclay barely knew. She followed him onto the Starbase as he left the Enterprise D forever.


	2. Starbase 64

**Starbase 64**

The queues at Starbase Information and Bookings Desks always moved at a glacial pace but the line Barclay had joined appeared to be moving in reverse. In front of him a petite, young Orion woman in baggy, rust coloured clothing, her hair in a long raven braid held a tiny baby to her shoulder, a large fabric bag that was slung across her body appeared to be her only luggage. He'd always had a weakness for petite women with long dark hair so she instantly caught his attention, although he'd yet to get a clear look at her face. The infant blinked at him with huge ink-drop eyes as he drooled over the muslin cloth on her shoulder. She cooed to comfort the child, stroking his thick dark curls calling him a 'good, sweet, boy' hence Reg knew the gender, as the baby began to fuss. He noticed a tiny silver ring in the cartilage of her ear, close to her cheek and a stud at the top of the opposite ear but her lobes were unpierced, as uncommon as an Orion wearing white metal if the tales he'd heard were true. Her left hand was bare but her right bore rings on her ring finger and thumb, silver again. He has no idea if this signified anything in Orion culture, plenty of Humans forewent wedding rings these days so it was hard to tell anything by someone's adornments. The fact she was holding a newborn was probably the most telling thing about her marital status, although she appeared to be travelling alone. Reg had no experience of infants but it was clear even to him the child was indicating a want or need of some sort. She rummaged in the huge bag one handed when the child began to cry, muttering an oath he assumed was in Orion before pulling out a stumpy shaped feeding bottle. She deftly popped the lid off with her thumb in the direction of the nearest waste recycler, giving a little cheer as it hit the target then shifted the child so he was cradled in her arm, set the temperature on the bottle with her thumb, tested it on her wrist and he fell quiet. Presumably feeding happily out of Reg's line of sight.

Finally, it was her turn to be assisted and she pulled a package of documents in various digital formats from her bag while carefully supporting the baby with the bottle tucked under her chin and quietly explained the situation to the claret clad ensign at the desk. "I beg your pardon?!" she suddenly snapped at the man behind the counter in a cultured English accent that took Reg by surprise.

"I SAID WHERE DID YOU STEAL THESE DOCUMENTS HONEY?" he asked in a loud voice.

"I'm offended not deaf!" she snapped curtly.

"You're an Orion kid, do you really expect me to believe you're a Federation Citizen, let alone some kind of Orion Diplomat?

"I have my Federation Citizenship, my Orion Diplomatic Credentials, my Daystrom Institute Student Registration documents all of which state my age. Check my biometric readings if you don't believe me?" She turned to Reg, "Would you mind please?" She thrust the baby into his arms and the bottle into his hand. "Thank you." She smiled warmly and it was only then he realised three things. The first, her eyes. She had the most fascinating green eyes he'd ever seen, like dark, deep pools of iridescent jade liquid. The second, she was breathtakingly pretty with the smallest upwards tilt to her nose, even features and a cute dimpled smile with a slight overbite to her bright white teeth. Thirdly she was young, certainly no older than her mid-teens. Young enough that he felt guilty he found her so attractive. The baby suckled happily and gripped at Reg's finger as it rested on the bottle with his tiny green hand. He was certainly a sweet boy and Reg was surprised she was so trusting to just hand him to a stranger, but then there were Officers and Security all over this part of the Starbase and as well as scanners and she had little choice under the circumstances.

"Okay, I'll humour you and run the scan." The Ensign smirked as he yanked her hand across the counter and shoved it roughly in the scanner. She was short so it was a stretch. "So where are the papers for your son? Clearly green whores start young." he added under his breath.

"He's not my son, he's my brother and I told you. They've been sent in the most recent Federation Diplomatic Package. I was told to collect them here so I can travel to Earth with him on the USS Horizon."

"The Federation Diplomatic Service are involved in the migration of an Orion brat? Pull the other one sweetheart." The scanner beeped and he released her hand then pulled out a padd with insolent sloth. "What's the kid's name?"

"Nefren Barin." she replied.

"Come on, stop wasting everybody's time. Step aside girl?" someone behind Reg complained.

"His parent's name?"

"His mother is Tira Barin. His father was Moyda Parr."

"Look, we haven't got all day. Some of us have ships to catch." the voice from behind him came again. He turned to see a Zakdorn with a terse expression. In fact, he resembled a Targ chewing a wasp.

"Well, get your mother. We can sort this out much easier with her." the Ensign suggested.

"If you mean my biological mother, when the authorities catch up with her I'll ask them to send her your way." she replied sarcastically. "She's currently a fugitive wanted in connection with Moyda Parr's murder. This matter has already been resolved if you'll just check the Federation Diplomatic Packet."

"And you claim to be this… Taryn Bowdeetcha Prior?" he read from her documents.

"It's pronounced Boo-dick-a." She rolled her eyes. "And I don't claim to be anyone. I am Taryn Boudicca Prior." She turned at the continued muttering behind Reg. "Excuse me. I have just as much right to be in this queue as you do and I've waited just as long, so shut your face!"

"And you have no other identification for the baby?" the clerk asked suspiciously.

"He left his library card in his other nappy along with his Unicorn's season ticket and his membership card for a Ferengi topless bar." she said facetiously. "He's three days old, how much ID do you expect him to have?" Behind her Reg struggled not to laugh. She really was quite funny not to mention highly intelligent. "I was just handed him by one of the med-techs here as I arrived on the concourse. He said his name was Kotar. This should all have been arranged, if you'll just look at the Diplomatic Packet?" she repeated with exasperation. Behind him the Zakdorn was approaching boiling point.

"How dare you speak to me like that you little strumpet!" the Zakdorn scowled. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"No." the girl replied innocently. "Aside from someone rude and obnoxious…" she shook her head.

"I am Dr Tima Ootani." he said pompously, as if this should impress everyone.

"Good for you." she replied with a smile and turned back to the desk.

"Listen, you little slattern. I'm due to take a position on Jupiter Station and I need to be on the Horizon when it departs."

"I'm sure they'll wait for you," she told him dryly, "seeing as you're so important."

"Taz!" a Lieutenant Commander in a red uniform called across the concourse and ran over to hug her. "Your Dad called and asked me to check everything went smoothly. I thought you'd be on board by now." She snorted derisively and he turned to the officer at the desk. "Is there a problem Ensign?"

"Commander Eldon, I…"

"Apparently I'm a thief, a fraud and a whore, Rick." The young woman replied brightly with a smile as the terminal beeped giving the result of her biometric scan. "And possibly a baby snatcher."

"Congratulations Ensign, you just caused a diplomatic incident." he stated as the Ensign's eyes grew wider on confirming her identity. "As I'm the Starbase JAG Officer do you wish to lodge a formal complaint, my Princess?"

"I don't want to hold the queue up any longer than I have already." she shook her head. "I just want to get to the ship and get the baby settled." She replied and turned to Reg. "Thank you for holding him." She smiled again and took the baby, tossed the empty bottle into the matter recycler by the desk and raised the infant to her shoulder to burp him while Commander Eldon sorted out the red tape. "I'm sorry I took so long."

"That w…wasn't your fault. You're welcome." he smiled at her and the baby. "So you're t…traveling to Earth on diplomatic business?" he asked. Endeavouring to make small talk with people was something he'd promised Counsellor Troi he'd continue.

"No, I live there. This little chap was an unexpected complication in my travel plans." she explained, rubbing the baby's back and smiling as little Nefren belched loudly. "You?"

"I'm heading home t..to Earth too. T…trying to get passage on a transport." he stated. "I'd be happy to work my way on a freighter or whatever but from the board…" he looked over at the departures screen forlornly. Only one ship was destined for Earth and it was listed as full.

"Excuse me Rick?" she asked Commander Eldon. "Is there any way you could find quarters on the Horizon for this gentleman? He was kind enough to wait patiently and even held the baby for me." she asked.

"There's no need really." Reg protested. "I..I wasn't hinting or anything."

"It's no problem." Rick smiled. "The JAG Office booked space on the Horizon for a conference at Utopia Planitia that just got cancelled. We're assigning spaces on a first come first served basis and we have a couple left. The ship's headed there for a refit so it isn't being reassigned. The next ship in that direction isn't for weeks."

"Thank you." Reg told her sincerely.

"You're welcome. Being green is a pain in the arse but being an Admiral's daughter has its perks." She smiled as Rick took Reg's credentials to make arrangements.

"She's an Admiral's daughter too?" the Ensign asked nervously as he processed the travel assignment.

"Yeah, you messed up big time." Rick told him. "Think yourself lucky she's nice and keep your prejudice to yourself in future. Foreign diplomats and dignitaries come in all shapes and sizes. If you have doubts run biometrics but don't ever be rude or sarcastic or you'll end up spending the rest of your diplomatic career scrubbing conduits." Eldon stepped out from behind the desk and returned their papers. "Here, let me take that bag." He smiled then grimaced as Taryn took her bag off and handed it to him. "Holy cow! You got bricks in this thing? I'm gonna need a truss!" he grunted as he shouldered it. "Come on, they're holding the ship for you. If you'll follow me Mr Barclay." He added as they started walking. "That's one cute baby. You weren't much bigger when I started working for your Dad." Rick smiled.

"Do you want a quick cuddle?" she offered him the infant.

"Go on then, although I've been caught out like that before." he said as he took the baby. "Your big sister peed all over my uniform the day we met." the JAG officer told the boy with a grin and winked at Taryn. "Your big brother pooped on me too a week later. Babies in your family seem to think I'm the head, not that my kids have much more respect."

"Excuse me porter?" Ootani waved. "I'm listed for the Horizon too. Here's my bag."

"It's a lovely bag too." Rick replied with a smirk and rolled his eyes but kept walking. "You'd better hurry if you plan to embark. It's leaving as soon as the Prince and Princess are aboard."

"If that slut gets a man to carry her bag I demand the same treatment." Ootani pouted as they walked away. "I'm sure His and her Highness will agree with me?" He looked around for them, oblivious that he'd just insulted them both.

"In that case you'll have a long wait for the next transport ship. Two months I believe. I only carry bags for royalty and friends and she's both." Eldon shouted over his shoulder. "Who is that asshole?" he asked Taryn.

"Dr Tima Ootani apparently." Taryn advised him. "He's famous, didn't you know?" she added with a smirk.

"Never heard of him." Eldon replied and looked to Reg who shook his head. He'd never heard of him either.

"Excuse me Mr Barclay?" two security officers approached. "We'd like a word."

"W…why?" Reg asked with a puzzled frown.

"There's been a complaint that you exposed yourself in the ladies' washroom on the level above this."

"What? When?" he asked.

"Ten minutes ago."

"There must be some mistake. Mr Barclay has been in my presence for the last hour at the enquiries desk." Taryn stated.

"The witness, a Jenny Barrymore is adamant it was you. Perhaps she got the time wrong."

"Lieutenant Barrymore?" Reg asked and blanched. "Look, she's… I'm being victimised and she's part of it." He explained. "She's lying. Check the scanners? I went straight from the Enterprise docked at airlock 4 to the concourse and then to here. I haven't been anywhere else."

"I can confirm that." Taryn stated looking puzzled. "I saw him arrive on the concourse from airlock 4 after I picked up the baby. He let me in front of him at the desk. There wasn't enough time for him to flash anyone."

"This shouldn't take long to clear up then." the officer took Reg's arm.

"Wait. You can't arrest or question him. He has diplomatic immunity." Taryn stated as he was pulled away.

"I do?" Reg asked.

"Yes. He works for me as an aide." Taryn stated and stepped forwards. "I recruited him for the handling of an important diplomatic matter earlier today." she flashed her eyes in the direction of the baby. Reg shuffled his feet nervously in response.

"And you are?"

"Taryn Prior. Rhadaman Anthus of the Caj Barin and we have a ship to catch gentlemen." Reg noticed the girl beside him suddenly smelled different. Her scent became stronger and more intense, like a musky perfume.

"We really should take him in." the officer suddenly looked doubtful and turned to his colleague.

"Look." She idly stroked the front of the security officer's uniform with her finger. "Let us go on our way and you go and check your little images. If he goes into the loos then you can always send notice for him to be arrested on the Horizon and processed on Earth." She gazed up into the man's eyes plaintively. "I'll be more than happy to comply with a properly filed extradition request once you provide just a teensy bit more evidence."

"She has a point." the other security officer agreed who was stood further away.

"Okay." The officer smiled down at her. "I'd hate to hold up a diplomatic mission."

"Thank you." She batted her lashes at him as he kissed her knuckle, hardly appropriate but she didn't seem surprised in the least. "I really appreciate your discretion in this matter."

"Anything for you." the man whispered. Then released her hand and turned and walked away. As Reg inhaled her scent it was a sentiment he was beginning to share.

"Don't you dare tell my Dad what I just did Rick." Taryn warned as she watched them go. "I really did see him arrive. That was a malicious complaint." she looked to Reg. "Are you in some sort of trouble Mr Barclay?"

"You said you were being victimised?" Rick asked him.

"It's…it's nothing. I just want to get back to Earth and put all this behind me." Reg stated sadly and looked at his shoes. "You shouldn't have lied and said I worked for you." he added.

"I didn't exactly lie. I asked you to hold the baby and you agreed." She smiled. "Admittedly it isn't a job with a lot of prospects or pay." she added. "I don't mean to pry. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I just hate it when people use the law for their own ends."

"So do I. Did you say the name was Lieutenant Jenny Barrymore?" Rick concluded from the things Reg had said. "From the Enterprise?"

Reg nodded. "There've been rumours going around about me. Most of them lies. I really just want to forget it."

"Well, if she's telling the truth we have a flasher on the station, even if it isn't you. I'd better have a word with her." Eldon stated as they continued heading to the airlock where the Horizon was docked. "Give my regards to the family Taz." He hugged the young woman, before handing her the baby and kissing her cheek.

"Yours too. Take care Rick." she replied.

"Take care." he said as he gave her back her bag. She turned and waved as she entered the ship and Eldon caught Reg's arm. "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep an eye on her. She gets flack sometimes, like back at the desk. People make assumptions based on how she looks and don't realise she's half-human let alone clever and a diplomat. She can take care of herself and that baby just fine if she doesn't get too much grief. You don't have to do anything just… be there if she comes to you for help."

"Of course. I would any way." Reg told him. "I'd never turn away a d…damsel in d…distress."

"I thought as much. She's always been a remarkable judge of character. Aside from when she whizzed on me as a baby." Eldon smiled and shook his hand. "A pleasure meeting you Mr Barclay."

 _Author's note:  
_

 _Thanks for taking the time to read my story. All comments/reviews are welcome._

 _I now have a twitter and facebook page where I'll be posting updates, pictures like the ones I use on and I'm always happy to Talk trek. Look me up as yncarn8 on both sites.  
_


	3. A New Horizon

**A new Horizon**

Reg felt seriously out of place in guest quarters. The Horizon was smaller than the Enterprise but even so the guest accommodation was plush. Only three days into the voyage and he was bored. He'd begun catching up on his technical journals then decided it was pointless since he was unemployed. He'd started reading a novel that was a leaving gift from Wesley, apparently his favourite, but it was so full of cliché, bathos and angst he'd had to abandon it in spite of the fact most of the female characters were graphically described half-naked for no apparent reason with no relation to with the plot, what little there was. He was fairly certain this wasn't what the Captain had in mind when he encouraged the Acting Ensign to embrace art and literature. He was sure he never read this kind of drek when he was that age. It wasn't Dumas by any means. He idly wondered what the young lady he had met read for pleasure. His thoughts often strayed to her, she seemed so kind and thoughtful. He was desperate to know more about her, particularly her age but to look her up on the computer seemed too creepy. It was bad enough he was developing a crush on a girl who seemed too young to be out of high school let alone start cyber-stalking her. Maybe what they were saying about him was true, he was a pervert.

He thought about the baby too. The way the little man had gripped his finger melted his heart. He'd never held a baby before, let alone a prince and was surprised how natural it felt to hold him in his arms. He was so tiny and fragile yet filled with so much potential. He hadn't seen either of them around the ship since they embarked. He hoped they were both okay.

He'd made a promise to Counsellor Troi that he wouldn't lurk in a cabin all the way home so he made a point of eating at least one meal a day at the bar and restarted his evening visits for warm milk and would take frequent walks in their arboretum. He didn't really talk to anyone but he responded to the staff and crew when they spoke to him. He made an effort to be more forthcoming than he was after he transferred to the Enterprise. Obviously he avoided the holo-decks like the plague. With unlimited time on his hands the temptation was too great to disappear into a fantasy world.

He was surprised to see them as he entered the arboretum. She was sat cross-legged on the grass reading from a padd with the baby in the crook of one knee. He was stuck by how much she resembled a wood nymph as she sat in a glade of trees and shrubbery. A dryad or a sylph, a creature of the fae from _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ perhaps? He almost feared to approach her in case she vanished or darted away between the trees should he startle her, instead she looked up as he cast a shadow over them and blinked. "Oh hello." she smiled up at him.

"Hello. M…may I join you?" he asked nervously.

"Of course, pull up some turf." she joked.

"I was beginning t…to think you'd jumped ship." he asked as he sat, subconsciously mimicking her pose with his legs crossed.

"We've been sequestered in Sickbay pretty much since we arrived." she replied. "Nefren had a seizure."

"Is he okay?" he asked with concern and looked carefully at him. "Was he sick?"

"He's fine now." she stroked his raven curls. "They just wanted to keep him there as a precaution to see how he responded to medication and I decided to stay with him. They warned me to expect problems before I picked him up at the Starbase."

"W…why? Is he in danger?" Reg asked. "Is it because he's mixed species? I noticed his eyes look… Betazoid."

"No, nothing like that." She sighed. "Thanks to our mutual egg donor he was born an addict. He's in withdrawal. But the meds are helping him through it along with some TLC." She forced a smile. "I need to keep an eye on him for certain things, like seizures among other conditions but fortunately they don't think there'll be any lasting damage."

"That's a lot of responsibility." Reg frowned.

"Not another one." she said and put her padd in her bag angrily. "You know, on an Orion colony no one would be like this. You're an adult at fourteen and that's it. Some women have two kids by my age."

"No, I meant a lot of responsibility for anyone, let alone a sister. I didn't mean…." he realised he'd grasped her hand instinctively and let it go. "I never meant you couldn't manage."

"Sorry, I've just…had it to here. You know?" she indicated her forehead.

"I know," he whispered.

"You're right his father was Betazoid, he had no family but the Betazoid government ruled that Nefren can't be raised by my grandmother on Barin Prime and made him a ward of their state. Never mind she's Tahedri. Never mind the fact it broke her heart. Orion women do have them you know? He'd have had a wonderful life with cousins who look just like him and he would have been loved, worshiped, but they didn't want him raised as an Orion. A pirate or a slaver? That's what they said he'd become. We aren't with the Syndicate, Edara outlawed slave trading in our territory as soon as she came to power and piracy has been illegal for over a century. Anyway, she asked my father to speak for her at a tribunal and it was agreed that I could be his guardian and raise him within the Federation. That way Edara can see him when I visit and she can visit him and he'll be with family instead of an orphanage. When he's old enough he can choose which society he wants to live in."

"Don't take this the wrong way but that's a lot to take on on your own. What will happen if he develops telepathic abilities?"

She smirked. "I'm from a big family. Prior's are never alone. My Dad told me in no uncertain terms to get my arse to Starbase 64 as soon as we heard about him. I was already on my way home from Barin Prime so I made a detour and hitched a ride on a diplomatic courier ship. He wouldn't have accepted this compromise if he wasn't willing to babysit occasionally. He's a big softy when it comes to babies. Also…" she pulled back her long hair with a finger and showed him her pointed ear and the matching one covered by the baby's curls. Red could hardly believe he hadn't noticed her ears in the queue at the Starbase, but she seemed to wear her hair over the points, just above her piercing. To hide them perhaps? They made her seem even more like a creature of the forest. "The Egg-Donor is half Vulcan. I'm not telepathic at all but my twin brother Emlyn is, very much so. He'll be able to support him and help him develop. I'll also make contact with the Betazoid Embassy. I'd like him to learn about his father's culture."

"I know someone who's half Betazoid. I'd be happy to put you in touch with her. She's a Counsellor so she'll be understanding about the situation and I think her mother is some sort of diplomat." She seemed pleased at this idea and he felt a strange and unexpected flush of pride in his chest. "Your…Egg-donor… she just left him?"

"She dumped him outside the Starbase Infirmary in a bag like he was rubbish, placenta still attached. He could have bled out through his umbilicus, it's lucky they found him in time. They identified him through Emlyn and my DNA in Federation records and his father's from his unsolved murder case. She's been on the lam for years, this isn't new behaviour by any means. She aborted my twin and I."

"What?" Reg snapped incredulously.

"We survived thanks to a natal jar and a surrogate, who Dad later married. She's my real mother. The one who counts." She paused. "I've just realised we haven't really been introduced. I'm Taryn Prior." she offered her hand.

"Barclay, Reginald Barclay." he replied awkwardly.

"Do you have children Mr Barclay?" she asked.

"No, I'm… I'm not married," he replied.

"You're old fashioned." She smirked. "You don't have to be married you know?" she whispered conspiratorially. "I'm surprised. You held him like you were a pro."

"I'd never held a baby before." he told her. She genuinely did seem surprised. "I've held pets though. Cats mostly."

"You must be a natural."

"You're definitely a natural." Reg smiled as she picked the baby up and held him out in front of her, curled in her hands, gazing into his tiny face.

"I've had practice. My youngest sister is three. There are eight of us and as I said, lots of cousins on the Green side of the family. I do a fair bit of babysitting for friends and neighbours too." she explained as she smiled at the baby. "I like babies. Keep them warm and dry, put it in one end, wipe it off the other. Nice and straightforward."

"You make it sound easy."

"It is, but it's scary when they're poorly." she looked a little pensive. "But he's okay now. Aren't you? Yes you are." she smiled at the tiny boy as he wiped his face with his scratch mitts.

"Who named him?"

"My grandmother Edara, she saw his picture with those big dark eyes. Nefre was a goddess, first born of the Mother. It's said she had eyes as dark as obsidian and when she lost her lover she wept for a thousand years and created the void of space from her tears. Green newborns have purple eyes usually. Like fair-skinned human newborn's eyes are often blue. Edara will be on her way to Earth already I expect. She's desperate to have a cuddle and she'll spoil you rotten. She will. Yes, she will."

"So what will he call you? Mommy or…?"

"You know, I haven't thought about that." she frowned. "I suppose I'll be a Mummy to him but it doesn't seem right lying to him." She chewed her lip. "I've no idea how I'll broach the topic of his father. There's no way to spin the fact his birth mother ripped his throat open with her bare hands. I'm his sister and he needs to know that..."

"His half-sister." Reg pointed out.

"That doesn't matter. The eight of us have three different mothers. Dad's first wife, the Egg-Donor and Marianne. We never use the words half or step in our family and even though two of my three older brothers remember their Mum before she died we all call Marianne Mum." she looked at him earnestly. "What's your family like?"

"I'm an only child. I'm close to my Dad, not so much my Mother." he rubbed his wrist nervously as he mentioned her. "They split when I was a teenager and never re-married. Dad's an author and my Mother is an investigator with the Office of the Inspector General."

"My Mum's an artist and Dad's just been promoted to Vice Admiral in the Judge Advocate General's office." Taryn smiled. "I wonder if their paths have crossed." she mused. "So we're both Fleet Brats."

"You really are well connected."

"He only pulled strings because there was a baby involved. Ordinarily he believes on letting us stand on our own feet and get by on our own merit." she replied.

"He must be proud you're a diplomat."

"Not really, that job title comes with strings attached and even I'm not sure I want to follow that path. It's more of an honourary position anyway. I'm really a student. An Undergrad at Daystrom. He is proud of me though, I don't have any doubt about that."

"I studied Computer Systems at Daystrom. What are you studying?" he asked with interest.

"Cybernetics. Did Professor Huntley teach Isolinear Tech while you were there?" she asked with interest, knowing it was a course that overlapped both curricula.

"He can't still be working?" Reg asked with disbelief. "He retired while I was there, then came back a month later. The running joke was he didn't get decent gifts when he left so he was going to keep retiring to get better ones."

"He did that last year too." she laughed. "Apparently his wife doesn't like him hanging around the house making the place untidy." She smiled. "I like him."

"I liked him too. Does he still throw candy to you when you get questions right?" Reg asked.

She nodded. "His aim isn't so hot these days. He nearly put my lab partners eye out."

Reg laughed, probably for the first time in months. Maybe he could enrol at Daystrom? Get a doctorate. He'd thought about it in the past but generally speaking most Engineers didn't study beyond their Master's. It was rarely a job requirement as practical experience counted so much in the field. He could always take a class or two to start. Play it by ear for a while and keep his options open. He realised if she was studying cybernetics he should probably put her in touch with Data, but he really didn't think it was the right time to start dropping names. Besides, he wasn't ready to share his new friend yet.

…

"So they just discharged you?" Taryn asked with a frown as he walked her back to her quarters. Her bag on his shoulder like a schoolboy carrying her books where it not for Nefren in his arms. "Even though you were complying with their disciplinary process and getting treatment?" he nodded in response. "That hardly seems fair. This Riker sounds like a prick." Reg smirked at her choice of words, he couldn't disagree. "He certainly sounds the type to start a bullying campaign."

"If he is behind it he's kept his hands clean. There's nothing anyone can prove, but Lieutenant Barrymore is a…."

"Bitch?" Taryn suggested.

"It's rumoured they've been dating." Reg told her as she stopped, presumably at her door.

"I'm planning to take Nefren to the Arboretum again tomorrow afternoon if you'd like to join us?" she offered. "The UV is set a little higher there and it's good for his skin, both of our skin's really."

"I'd love to Miss Prior." she pulled a face at her name. "Sorry, should I have called you my Princess, or Highness or something? Is there some protocol?"

"Don't be daft. No, I was thinking you should call me Taryn." she giggled. "Only my lecturers call me Miss Prior."

"In that case, you'd better call me Reginald, or Reg if you prefer." he smiled.

"Oops!" she cried as a wet patch spread over his light coloured shirt and down his trouser leg. "God ,I'm sorry. I've never known a baby pee like this. He seems to go straight through his nappy like a pressure hose." She took him from Reg along with her bag. "I'd better go and clean him up."

"Me too." Reg said, looking at his shirt then noticing her guilty and apologetic expression. "It's fine, it's not like its plasma coolant or anything." he laughed briefly.

"You haven't seen his number twos yet." Taryn smirked. "I'll call for you tomorrow afternoon. Around 1400 give or take?" she suggested.

"It's a date." he replied.

…

" _Reg, calm down._ " Deanna said over subspace. " _It's a saying. You've befriended a young mother travelling alone. I'm sure she doesn't think you were making a pass at her._ "

"He's her brother." Reg corrected as he paced frantically and chewed his fingers. Her head was moving from side to side on the small screen as she followed his progress across the room. It was as if she was watching a tennis match."

" _She's his legal guardian. In practical terms she's his parent._ " She paused and considered his body language. " _Reg, do you want this to be a real date?_ "

He froze. "Yes, I mean no. I don't know. It's not appropriate. She's too young." he blurted and continued his pacing.

" _How old is she exactly?_ " Deanna frowned.

"I'm not sure, she told me the age of majority for Orions is fourteen and implied she's older than that. She's a student at Daystrom."

" _Oh my God Reg_." Deanna said despairingly.

"I know." he replied dejectedly.

" _There's no age limit at Daystrom._ "

"I know." he repeated, rubbing his neck.

" _The Betazoid authorities may have accepted her Orion adulthood to class her as an emancipated teen to allow her guardianship._ "

"I know." he conceded.

" _You need to ask her. Make sure she isn't jail bait from a Federation point of view._ "

"I know." he agreed.

" _Why don't you just look her up on LCARS? What's her name? I'll look her up for you?_ "

"I…NO!" he blurted with alarm. "I can't… I won't… It…It would be weird." he wrung his hands.

" _Weirder than obsessing about her like this?_ " She sighed. " _You aren't the first man in this position. Often with different humanoid species aging is variable as are ages of consent._ "

"I know, I attended that seminar along with everyone else at the Academy." he paused suddenly. "She's part Vulcan. A quarter I think?" he said thoughtfully.

" _Well, in that case she could be substantially older than she looks._ " the set of her shoulders and her expression relaxed at this news. " _But Reg, if you really like this girl, if there's any chance for a relationship between you, you need to be able to talk to her. Asking her age shouldn't offend her or be an issue._ " She pursed her lips. " _I shouldn't really be encouraging a relationship so early in your treatment for addiction but I did urge you to socialise more._ " she mused. " _Just… Take care._ " she urged.

"I will." he replied and shut down the channel.

Several people stopped talking and stared at Barclay as he entered the bar. He frowned and looked down at himself, briefly wondering if his fly was open. Having ascertained he was decent he headed for the bar.

"Warm milk please?" he asked the barman, taking a stool.

"No problem. You have a replicator in your quarters? Use it!" the man hissed.

"I'm sorry?" Reg frowned. He'd spoken with this person before and they'd been really friendly.

"We've heard all about you and why you were discharged. You aren't welcome in here!"

"Whatever you've heard…I was discharged for tardiness." Reg argued. "Inattention to duty. It wasn't even bad enough to call it dereliction."

"We heard the real reason, you pervert. How could you?" the man said with disgust.

"How could I what? I got addicted to the holodeck, what's so bad about that?"

"Yeah, but you didn't stop at the holodeck did you?"

"Just…tell me what I'm being accused off?" he asked.

"I don't even want to say it, you freak. Get out! Get out or I'll throw you out!" Other's jeered as he left the bar. He headed back to his quarters with his head low.


	4. A Raincheck from reason

**A raincheck from reason**

He sighed as the door chimed. I was just after 2pm. He took a deep breath as he stepped towards the door. He hoped it was her and not them. They'd been turning up at irregular intervals since the evening before, including throughout the night. The door would chime and he'd find a note. Hate mail, accusing him of the vilest of atrocities. She smiled sweetly as his door opened, her huge bag over one shoulder and Nefren cradled in a fabric sling on her chest. She was dressed as she always was in loose fitting, muted colours that suited her complexion. The only difference was her long hair was in a knot, rather than braided into a plait as she usually seemed to wear it.

"Um sorry…I… Can I t…take a raincheck?" he asked.

Her face fell, clearly she was disappointed. "Of course, no problem." she replied. "I hope you're okay?" she added looking concerned.

He wasn't okay. He was about as diametrically opposed from okay as he could get. He rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just…there's a communique I need to deal with." he lied. The fact was the torture had followed him from the Enterprise, and he really didn't think he could take any more and the last thing he wanted was for her to be tainted by her association with him. But he could never tell her that.

"Oh. Well. I have some studying to do so I won't get bored or anything." she forced a smile and he was surprised he could tell it wasn't genuine. She normally seemed so self-assured. "Maybe another day?" she suggested.

"Count on it." It was his turn to fake a smile this time and he watched as she walked away. He sighed deeply and returned to the terminal and the stack of offensive notes beside it in a pile. It wouldn't take long to finish the amendments to the system that he needed to do. There were two ways to accomplish his task in hand. Turn of the safety protocols on the replicator, which would flag up on the control panel in engineering. Not necessarily a problem, but he needed time for his plan to work, uninterrupted by a theoretical busybody Engineer. The other option was to change his species in the ships manifest. Something that would cause confusion should he wind up in Sickbay, but otherwise unlikely to be noticed until it was too late.

He walked over to the replicator, then paused and went back to the terminal and sent a delayed intra-ship memo to the CMO. The last thing he wanted was for her to find him. He'd already left other letters on file. One to his father, one to Counsellor Troi and one to Taryn thanking her for her friendship however brief and apologising for not coming with her to the arboretum. He had wanted to, more than he could say. He walked calmly across the room and made his order at the replicator. He took the delicate cup and sat on the corner of the bed. He stared into the cup for a moment before raising it to his lips and downing it in one.

The Klingon tea burned as it slid down his throat. A heat that intensified with every passing seconds as he choked and writhed, convulsing on the bed, froth emerging from his nose and lips that seared acid hot against his flesh. His pulse thumped in his ears, an echo of his heart that beat hard in his chest. So hard he felt and began to wish it would explode as the agony grew. His vision grew red, a redout, something he'd only experienced under g-force during gravity training at the Academy. The sudden realisation his blood pressure was driving too much blood to his brain was his last rational thought.

…

"Barclay? Reg?! Come on pal." the words echoed through the darkness as he felt someone slap his cheek to rouse him. "Open your eyes? Let's see those peepers?" He blinked and saw four faces peering at him. "Hey pal. Welcome back!"

Reg struggled to focus his eyes. He could make out two men and two women working on him, cutting him out of his clothing. Three were in blue uniforms, medical staff he assumed and the fourth, he realised with alarm, was Taryn. "Wait don't." he protested feebly, his throat hoarse and stripped as she used a cutter on his trouser leg towards his groin.

"Shut it you prat." Taryn snapped. "Serves you right if I nick your balls. Do you have any idea how stupid what you just did is?" He began to croak. "Don't answer that. Your throat is all fucked up. Just shut up and listen." she chided. "I'm on your side. You have friends on the Enterprise and how do you thank us? You selfish prick! How do you think your Dad would feel if you died?" He struggled to cover his modesty as she continued to remove his clothes. "You're covered in acidic puke, you idiot. I have five brothers and I help nurse my Grandad, I've seen a cock before!" Reg was about to point out she'd never seen his when she whipped off his cut underwear and covered him with a sheet so fast he doubted even Data could've got an eyeful.

"That really isn't a recommended way to speak to a suicidal patient." one of the men warned her in a Scottish accent.

"This is Counsellor Duncan Fraser, Dr Houghton and Nurse Merrell. Fortunately, they're too professional to refuse to treat you whatever atrocities the rumour mill says you've done." Taryn added.

One of them, the man who wasn't Scottish and was standing over his head, clicked his fingers in front of his eyes and Reg looked up at him. "Open wide for me, that's it." he stated as he inserted a device in his mouth and down his throat. "This may pinch a little." Reg bucked as he activated the device, in agony but unable to scream. The other's held him down as he convulsed. "All done." he said brightly and removed the probe. "That's your stomach contents vapourised. You may feel nauseous, but to be frank that's the least of your worries."

"How did you know?" Reg whispered hoarsely.

"One of the idiots on board warned me to keep Nefren away from you. In case you cook and eat him." Taryn rolled her eyes. "I came straight back to check on you and called for assistance when you didn't answer the door."

"Where am I?" he asked barely audibly, it certainly wasn't Sickbay.

"Your quarters." The nurse replied tersely as she worked. "Some of our 'colleagues' didn't want you in Sickbay." She added. "In case you tried to sneak into the mortuary and give the cadavers oral sex. I want them all on report by the way Heath."

"No shit. You and me both Kit. I'll be having words with Jonesy as soon as we're done, his day off or not. You won't be deep-throating anything for a while pal, living or dead and eating ain't gonna be a barrel of laughs either." Dr Houghton smirked and gave him a hypospray to the neck. "Incidentally, you're going to be fine. But you'll ache like a son of a bitch for the foreseeable. You're lucky to be alive, you rolled face down and barfed. The worst of it came up and you managed not to aspirate any but you're covered in acid burns."

"It wasn't supposed to work like that." Reg croaked.

"Yeah, for some reason you had a weird enzymatic reaction. It turned your saliva to acid. Klingon Tea, that evil shit should be outlawed." Houghton stated as he scanned him. "Do you need something for the pain?"

"I…I have a…an addictive history…"

"Duncan?" Heath Houghton looked over to his colleague who shook his head to indicate he didn't know. "What was your poison?"

"He's a recovering holo-addict." Taryn replied.

"Nothing chemical?" Heath asked Reg to confirm and he shook his head, wincing at the pain it induced in his face and throat. "That's important to know. I won't give you anything that commonly forms a psychological addiction as well as a physical one." He patted Reg's shoulder. "You should have mentioned that when you checked in on arrival you know?"

"I'll get some Hiparantol from Sickbay." Kit stated.

Houghton nodded. "And some Preternoidol and Berantin." he requested as she disappeared from view. "Another dermal regenerator too. We can get this done quicker if you handle the more superficial burns. AND HIS NOTES!" he bellowed after her.

"Given how everyone's behaving can you blame him for not saying?" Taryn defended as she changed the soiled bedding around him and Houghton treated his burns. "None of it's true. He struggled to adjust to a new ship and didn't fit in so he created a world where he did. These rumours are all malicious, my friend Rick from the JAG office has been looking into it. He called yesterday after we got back from the Arboretum." she told Reg. "I was going to talk to you about it today. He's not sure if it will help anything yet, but he's been in touch with your friends on the Enterprise. I meant what I said earlier, you have people in your corner, you didn't need to do this." He felt her push a bunch of gathered sheets under his back and watched her walk to the other side of the bed. "Can you roll over?" He co-operated as she turned him with Duncan's help and pulled the clean sheet straight under him. "There we are." She gathered the soiled bedding and clothing careful not to touch anything nasty and dumped them in the recycler.

"He's going to need to be on suicide watch." Duncan recommended in a whisper to Taryn as he resumed handing instruments to Heath. "I can see he felt persecuted and the situation was hopeless, that's understandable given all the notes we found. Whether he'll try again or not?" There was a pause. "Either way we need to protect him from the abuse so he doesn't feel this vulnerable again."

"We could move him to my quarters. At least the hate mail should stop for a while and I'll keep vigil. I sleep like a Vulcan." Taryn added.

"So that's how you look so fresh and alert even though you have a newborn." Duncan told her.

"You don't need to do that." Reg croaked and reached out to Taryn, "There's…enough on your plate."

"Don't be a prat." Taryn replied and took his hand in both of hers. They felt warm against his skin, but far from as delicate as they appeared. They were strong, calloused although not unpleasantly so. These weren't hands that plucked the odd rose, did needlepoint and little more, the hands of a Princess. These were hands that worked, an Engineer's hands but they were well cared for. Her cuticles were smooth, as were her manicured but short, strong nails. He'd heard Orion females had nails like talons under all the polish and he wondered briefly if her strong hands were a genetic trait. He'd always liked Counsellor Troi's hands, but to be honest, Dr Crusher's healing hands that touched demonstratively and were far less cultivated fascinated him more. He suddenly realised he was thinking about the real women, rather than the versions he had created and this surprised him. Even after all the counselling sessions, even though he had deleted most of them, his holo-deck creations had continued to feel more real to him than most people in the real world.

The hands holding his now felt very real. They belonged to someone who was quite possibly the realist person he had ever met and he held on to her as though she were a lifeline.

"I need to be somewhere, but call me if you need me." Duncan told them. "I'll speak with you soon Reg." he patted his arm before leaving the room.

Kit returned and handed Houghton a padd before she began setting up hypos. "This may knock you out for a while. Extreme drowsiness is a common side-effect but you won't end up hooked." Heath assured him as he pressed one to his neck. "Don't worry, we've got you. We'll take good care of you."

"Thank you Doctor." Reg croaked.

"Try not to talk and everyone calls me Heath." he grinned. "Between you and me it's short for Heathcliff but don't spread that around. Mom was a Bronte fan." he admitted as he carried on working.

"You kept that quiet. And I thought Kitten was a crappy name!" Nurse Merrell laughed as she powered up a dermal regenerator. "It could have been worse though, my sister is Bunny."

"Kits a cool name." Houghton told her. "Do you prefer Reg or Reginald?" Reg rocked his free hand to show he wasn't bothered. "It's quite a noble name. Do you like it?" Reg gave a thumbs down. "From your notes you're number three. Changing it would cause a shit storm I bet. I also see you're a Klingon apparently, you crafty bastard. So that's how you got hold of Klingon tea." He picked up another hypo and used it. "This will help with tissue regeneration, especially mucous membranes that we can't reach easily like your gastric tract. It's red raw down to your stomach but fortunately it's all still intact." He looked over at Taryn. "Taryn's an unusual name. Orion?" he asked.

"Welsh." Taryn replied. "My father is a Welshman. We all have Welsh first names."

"What does it mean?" Heath asked. "Pretty much anything is better than a field with a sharp drop."

She giggled at that and Reg felt a pang of jealousy at how easily the medic was making small talk with her. "Thunder, it's actually a boy's name traditionally."

"It suits you." Heath told her. "I heard you were from a large brood. Come on, let's have the roll call?"

"Geoffrey is the eldest, then there's Haydn, Cadfael, me, my twin brother Emlyn, My sister Tegan, Aneurin, then my baby sister Bronwyn. And now there's Nefren, but he's from my biological mother's side. As far as we know he's the only one but with her… who knows." She began to stroke the back of Reg's hand gently. It felt nice and his eyelid's began to grow heavy. He felt himself sinking into the sheets. Sheets she'd changed for him. She really was an angel.

"Your twin green too?" Heath asked with interest as he resumed work repairing his lesions and he could feel Kit working on his shin.

"No, he looks Vulcan, except more cheerful. The rest of my siblings are fully human."

"What did your step-mom think when your Dad rocked up with hybrid twins?" Kit asked.

"He was between wives. His first wife died having Cadfael. Our Egg-donor took advantage of him while he was still grieving."

"She sounds like a piece of work." Heath said sympathetically. "I read your little guy's notes, it's appalling the start he's had..." Their words started to blur, as though they were part of a dream as Reg drifted off to sleep.


	5. Sharing Quarters

**Sharing Quarters**

He felt as though he was on fire, burning and he writhed, tangled in the bedding.

"Easy, it's okay." Taryn whispered and he felt a hand on his upper chest and another on his forehead. Her hands left him and he heard the clink of a glass in the darkness, his eyes yet to adjust. "Sip this…slowly." She told him as she helped him sit up slightly and held the glass to his lips. "Heath told me this would help on a number of fronts. Your body is still metabolising trace amounts of the poison. That's why you're feverish." It felt soothing as the thick liquid slid down his throat. As soothing as her cool hand on his forehead. He felt bereft as she moved away, but he could hear the sound of the replicator and heard her soft footsteps returning. He lifted his head and squinted to see her carrying fresh bedding and some basic underwear, the t-shirt and shorts most officers wore under their uniforms, just as he was currently wearing. He also realised she was wearing considerably less than he'd ever seen her in and from her silhouette she was certainly no child. "You're soaked to the skin. I don't want you catching a chill." She perched on the side of the bed and he realised she was wearing a bra top and knee length leggings, not naked as he had previously thought. Her hair was held back in a messy knot. "Sorry, I was in the middle of stretching." she explained and he realised it was in response to him staring at her clothing. He was silently grateful she believed that, rather than the truth that he was staring at her curves. "Do you think you can sit up?"

"I could really…" he struggled to swallow. "Bathroom." he whispered as she grasped the back of his upper arm to help him.

"Okay, but I'm afraid it's open door policy. Duncan's orders. Easy…" she warned as a spasm of pain in his stomach gripped him and he clung to her arm, surprised at how toned she was. He knew officers, male officers, himself included who'd kill for deltoids and triceps as firm as hers. "I promise I won't peep. I just need to know you're okay." she assured him. She helped him up slowly and he managed to walk gingerly to the bathroom with her support. "I know. I'll fetch a chair and you can use it in the shower. It might make you feel better and it would be easier than a blanket bath." he nodded and forced a smile as she left, both relieved and disappointed at the thought of her tenderly sponging his naked body.

"Lights." He looked rough in the mirror as he leaned on the basin panel for support. He was pale and sweaty and his hair was all over the place. Around his nose and mouth as well as some radial lines where the acid had run looked pink and shiny with newly healed skin and signs of peeling at the edges.

"Heath didn't think you'd be left with any scars." she said as she placed one of the dining chairs in the corner of the shower. "But you're still healing, especially on the inside and you need to give yourself time." He went to speak but only a squeak emerged from his mouth. She watched intently as he breathed on the mirror and wrote a number. "That looks like a replicator reference code?" she guessed with an arched brow. He also wrote a size. "I'll be back." She touched his back as she turned to leave, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. He relieved himself rapidly and stepped into the shower. Throwing his sweat drenched shirt and boxers onto the floor he gingerly took the seat. He heard the baby begin to cry. "Here's your jammies." she called from beyond the shower screen, "I'll be in the bedroom with Nefren, call if you need me."

The baby quieted quickly, in fact before Reg could even manage to turn the shower on. He sat slumped in the chair and let the sonic do its work, barely finding the strength to run his fingers through his hair. It was soothing, but not as soothing as water would have been but he simply didn't have the strength to soap himself. He relaxed and closed his eyes. He woke with a start, aware the shower had stopped as it was programed to when there was nothing left to clean. He felt weak as a kitten as he stood and tried to pick up his discarded clothing and found bending, even a little produced unspeakable agony in his abdomen so severe it caused white specks to prick at the edges of his vision. Reluctantly he left them on the floor. He even had to sit on the toilet lid to put on his pyjamas.

She was making the bed when he staggered out of the bathroom, tying his pyjama top at the side.

"I'll… couch…" he squeaked, pointing at the living area.

"Don't be daft, you're too tall for that sofa." she told him as she worked. "You need to be as comfortable as you can."

"Baby okay?" he whispered and looked into the crib.

"He's fine. He was due for his meds. He's fed, changed and zonked out."

"Hypos?"

"No, it's an additive to his feed. It's just something to ease the withdrawal symptoms for him." He stroked the tiny boys raven curls as he slumbered. He really was a beautiful baby, with cherubic features, a button nose and long dark lashes. It was hard to believe anyone could abandon him. Taryn was right, he belonged with family, with someone who at least looked like him. It must have been really hard for her growing up the only green child in a family of eight on Earth although it was clear she was loved and included. It was hard to believe a newborn could be an addict, and the thought of the pain he must be suffering was heart-breaking.

"I know." She moved beside Reg and smiled. "It's hard to imagine my life without him already. My Dad says they hand you your children as soon as they're born and you fall hopelessly in love with them. I know what he means now." Her face looked angelic as she gazed at the tiny boy. "I've already made the request to adopt him although it won't go through until I'm eighteen."

"How old?" he asked with a frown.

"Me or him?" she asked, being deliberately obtuse. "Same as my tongue and younger than my teeth." she replied as he pointed to her. "It's only a number." She helped him over to the bed and he sat, wincing at the pain. "People judge me as soon as they know my age. They treat me differently, whether they mean to or not."

"I wouldn't." he whispered hoarsely.

"Maybe not, but I value our friendship and I'd sooner not take the risk." She poured him another glass of the soothing liquid and handed it to him.

"No." he whispered and put it back on the bedside table. "Don't deserve it." he hugged himself and began to cry.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she crouched to look up into his face.

"Burden." he sobbed. "You shouldn't have to…"

"No, no you're not a burden." She rubbed his knee. "Look at me? Reg? Look at me?" she tilted his chin. "Everybody, everyone has times in their life when they need help. When it all gets too much and they need someone else to take the load for a while." He pointed to her. "Even me…Especially me." she assured him and rubbed his arm before offering him the drink again. "And I consider it an honour to be the friend to help you now."

"Just wanted it to stop." he sobbed as he took it from her. "I didn't… Not suicidal."

"I know." She cupped his cheek gently. "And I'm so sorry I was nasty to you. But I was angry with them for driving you to it not you for taking that step. I've always hated bullies. They make my fists itch." She watched him as he drank the liquid and put down the glass.

"Sorry." he sobbed.

"Don't be. I'm just glad I get to help you through this rather than avenging your death." She sighed. "I know you probably want to talk, and we will, at length once your throat is better and not so painful." She tilted his chin to catch his gaze again. "I swear to you I'm going to help you get them."

"No…no…" he objected.

"I won't lower myself to their level. No dirty tricks, no bullying, but I'm going to make them pay. Not the idiots daft enough to believe the…the frankly ludicrous poison they spread. The ones who start it. The ones who rouse the rabble and then stand back and laugh. They are the ones that will pay. I promise you."

"How?" he asked looking concerned.

"You'll just have to trust me and wait and see. It may take a while, maybe years but if karma doesn't get them first I will. No one should be made to feel the way you did today." she rubbed his upper arm. "Heath left me a hypo to give you for the pain if you need it."

"No…no. I'm fine." he whispered and sniffed back some tears.

"You're a long way from fine, but I won't force you to have it. Lay down?" she told him and he lifted the covers before painfully shuffling into the bed. To his surprise she got in beside him and he tensed. "I can help. If I release my pheromones it will raise your adrenalin and help with the pain." he started to object. "It's a common practice among Green Orions to share a bed with someone ill or injured. There's nothing sexual about it, it's a form of natural healing." She rested her face against his arm and her hand over his collarbone. "Just breathe deeply." she told him and he smelled that warm, musky smell again. "I won't try to influence you. Just trust me and just let the biochemical magic happen."

…

He sighed and snuggled against her, holding her close and burying his face in the nape of her neck. Her skin felt like velvet and her scent was intoxicating. He ran his hand across her ribcage and down over her taut belly, rubbing his sticky loins against her firm bottom, a growl emerging from his throat.

He froze. "Oh boy." He tried to pull away but she was lying on his arm. "Oh boy, oh boy…"

"Good morning." she murmured lazily and turned over. She placed her hand on his chest, and he realised his pyjama top was open. "Mmmm." she ran her hand through his chest hair and up to his neck. "How are you feeling?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm… Did we? Oh boy we didn't, did we? I mean… You're beautiful, and I'd love to… Not… but…I mean… Oh god!" He began to hyperventilate.

She looked at him with a hurt expression, her lower lip quivering. "But you said you loved me. You promised to marry me." she whimpered then began to giggle as his expression became even more mortified and the blood drained from his face. "We didn't, you were confused enough without me seducing you." She smiled warmly at him. "You were the perfect gentleman."

"But I'm sticky." He lifted the covers and looked down at himself. His pyjama bottoms were thankfully closed but he had a distinct wet patch. He suddenly realized what he had announced to her and pulled the covers back over himself, blushing furiously. He got out of bed, still in some discomfort from his internal damage and headed to the bathroom.

"Well, even perfect gentlemen get nocturnal emissions from time to time." She quirked her lip. "Believe me that's not the first spunk stain I've seen heading towards the bathroom in the morning. A night doesn't pass when at least one of my brothers doesn't have a wet dream. Haydn humps half the soft furnishings in the house, his corner of the boy's room looks like a crime scene under ultra-violet." she said as she got out of bed and stretched.

"I'm sorry, my behaviour was unforgivable." he leaned out of the bathroom and apologised.

"How?" she asked with disbelief.

"I… I grabbed you and… rubbed… up against you." he said guiltily.

She took on an expression of mock disgust. "Dear Lord you're right. We'd better call the Militia!" She arched her brow at him. "You snuggled up to me under the influence of my pheromones. It's no big deal." She walked over to the crib, checking the time on the chronometer. "I snuggled up to you half-asleep too remember?"

"No… No big deal?" He frowned. Obviously it was no big deal to her. She'd crawled into bed with him with little or no provocation. Perhaps she shared her bed with every man she met? He flinched. No he didn't mean that the way it sounded even in his own mind. It was more that he'd never met anyone as relaxed about sleeping arrangements as her. "No big deal." He nodded and disappeared into the bathroom, in some ways disappointed their brief, unguarded moment of contact meant so little to her.

"Hello treasure." she heard her say as the baby yawned, awake but quiet. Reg stepped into the shower and turned on the water before realising he didn't have any toiletries. On finding a bottle of shower gel he opened and sniffed it gingerly, the same with a bottle of shampoo. He was a little disappointed to find them both unscented as he wondered what scent she smelled of. It was light and pleasant apart from when… He cursed himself for being dense. The scent was obviously her pheromones. At least with unscented he wouldn't smell girly all day.

Reg stepped out of the shower, his hair wet and a towel around his waist. He sniffed, then began moving around the bathroom sniffing. He opened the sink and lifted the toilet lid before poking his head into the bedroom. "What's that smell?"

"You don't want to know." Taryn grimaced as she cleaned Nefren's dirty protest from his bottom on the changing table.

He emerged with his chest bare, his curiosity overwhelming his bashful nature. He gagged as he stepped beside her. "Jesus wept. Is that normal?"

"It's far from pleasant, but it's within the boundaries of normal." Taryn worked quickly, trying not to inhale. "Just about."

"It's green. Is Orion poop green?"

"No, shit is pretty much shit coloured the universe over. I've nostly dealt with breast fed babies. I know they sometimes have green doings." She chewed her lower lip. "Maybe I should have agreed to have my milk stimulated. But with Uni and everything… He'd have to have hypos too unless I expressed all the time."

Questions flashed into his mind. How exactly do they stimulate breast milk? Was it an activity open to spectators? Would she have whipped one out to feed the baby in the queue at the Starbase? Was that an activity open to spectators? Express what exactly? Her feelings? Finally, a question emerged from his vast intellect that wasn't likely to get his face slapped. "What in God's name makes poop that colour? It looks like pond weed."

"If he was breast fed it's a sign he's not feeding long enough on each breast. In mammalian humanoids at first you get foremilk that's thirst quenching, more watery and higher in lactose, then you get fattier hindmilk that's satisfying and filling. Too much foremilk and you can get a baby that's hungry, feeding a lot but not gaining weight and has bright green poo like this. Or, it could be a reaction to something the mother has ingested." she said as she disposed of the offensive diaper, only for him to poop again over the clean one before she'd even fastened it. She sighed and began again.

"But he's not breast fed." Reg said with his forearm over his nose and mouth.

"No." she murmured as she considered the issue.

"Could it be the formula isn't suiting him? Or his medication?"

"I've no idea. He seems fine otherwise, I don't think it's anything urgent. Could you fetch a sample container from the replicator please? He's due for a check-up today and I'll ask about it. They may want a sample." she suggested. "They'll probably think I'm a nervous mother, but I'd sooner be safe than sorry."

"How can something so noxious come out of something so tiny and cute?" Reg asked as he replicated the container, in addition to some clothing. He handed it to her then headed back to the bathroom to change.

"That's a question that has baffled mankind for millennia." She smiled at the baby as she fastened his onesie. "That's better isn't it?" she said and picked him up, holding him to her shoulder and went over to the replicator to get his prescribed feed. She was sitting in an armchair in the bedroom feeding him when Reg emerged, dressed in light plain clothing. He still had problems deciding what to wear. He doubted he'd ever get used to being out of uniform.

"Can I go and fetch my razor?" he asked.

"Duncan confiscated it. He said you can have a standard issue cube razor?" She offered and Reg's face fell. "You prefer to wet shave?"

"Yes. I prefer to shower with water and wet shave with a blade." he stated. "I know, I'm weird. It's less efficient, less hygienic…" Reg had heard it all before from every roomie he'd been assigned.

"Not at all. It's a personal preference. I'll ask him if I can keep it in the safe here and promise to supervise you with it and lock it up when you're done." She smiled at him before turning to look at the baby as he fed.

Reg looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry to put you to all this trouble."

"It's no trouble. I'm sorry it's an inconvenience to you. I'm sure there are things you'd rather do than hang out with us."

"No, I like spending time with both of you." He held his stomach as he sat on the edge of the bed, it was still uncomfortable. He was hungry but the last thing he wanted to do was eat. "About before, I hope I didn't offend you." She looked at him with a puzzled frown. "When I woke up and thought…"

"Oh, I wasn't offended in the slightest. I'm sorry I teased you about it. I couldn't resist it." She flashed him a wolfish smile.

"It wasn't that I was horrified at the idea of it." He motioned with his hands as he spoke. "I'd hate to take advantage of you, and…I'd like to remember it if we did…Not that we would… I mean." He blushed. "I wouldn't want you to think I think of you like that. Not that you aren't… lovely." He sighed as he said the word.

She smirked. "I see."

"What? What do you see?" he frowned.

She looked up from the baby and shook her head slightly, the smirk still on her face. "Nothing. I just… see." She raised Nefren to burp him with a knowing smile on her face.

"Not everyone's primary motivation is s…sex you know?" He defended, although he would have preferred not to stammer on the word sex.

"I never said it was." she replied with an innocent expression on her face. She turned and checked the chronometer. "I do have a favour to ask?"

"Anything." he replied and instantly regretted how rapidly he'd responded.

"I have a competition coming up, and I missed a lot of training while Nefren was in Sickbay… my coach will tan my hide if I don't get back into training… I have a holodeck booked in half an hour." She sighed. "It's probably not your idea of fun, but if you wouldn't mind coming along? Nefren, well he needs to be held a lot because of his Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and they just aren't geared up for that in the ships nursery. If you could keep an eye on him, I'll keep an eye on you and I can train as well."

 _Author's Note:_

 _Thank you to everyone who has read and commented.  
_

 _Writing is going slowly but surely, and I hope to post the next chapter of Tempus Fugit in the next week or so. Doing a lot of travelling at the moment and it's taking it out of me, I'm needing to sleep and rest a lot and that's slowing me down._

 _I'm also building a Sims 2 world to make some pictures as a side project when my brain can't concentrate (Sims 2 has more user created Star Trek content available than Sims 4 which I have been using - Sims 4 also lacks toddlers, an appalling oversight in my opinion.) They'll be available on my facebook and twitter feed when they're done. yncarn8_

 _Take care_

 _ync_


	6. Training

**Training**

Reg sat there open mouthed as he watched her. She'd begun with several minutes of jumping rope, followed by jogging around a square mat in a variety of unusual strides. She did laps pin wheeling her arms, laps with knees raised, straight leg kicks, reverse kicks. Then she began side stepping and side skipping before more laps with straight legs. Then she began running backwards. Soon she was running half laps with stag leaps diagonally across the mat, then she would hop the diagonal.

He still had no idea what sport she was in training for but she seemed to be concentrating on the form of her running and her posture as she sprinted across the diagonal at full tilt.

Next she stripped off her sweater and slippers from her feet and began what looked like calisthenics similar to the drills the y would torture cadets with, albeit high intensity calisthenics at a fast pace. Then she was stretching and bending, toes, feet ankles, hands, nothing was left out and the force she seemed to use in the stretches was fierce. At one point she was doing some form of ballistic hand stands, bouncing upright and holding before returning her feet to the ground before continuing to stretch her legs on the floor in a variety of positions, her limbs at intense angles that looked like yoga, only far more vicious.

As she laid on her stomach in the splits, her legs at the sides leaning forwards he began to feel a little hot under the collar and when she sat up, rotated her upper body and put each hand behind her in turn, lifting her hips, her body in a graceful arc he almost came undone and then she stretched into a posture he suspected was called a crab. He cleared his throat and forced the image of her in that pose naked from his mind, chiding himself for being a dirty old man. Other stretches followed that resembled her flipping like a fish and sit ups that culminated in her rising gracefully to stand on alternate legs in an elegant pose. Counsellor Troi had encouraged him to join Worf's beginners Mok'bara group to aid mental focus and help with relaxation. Worf had stated Mok'bara was the ultimate in physical exercise. Reg didn't doubt it at the time. Reg was no couch potato but the first session he fell over twice, pulled a hamstring and passed out, ending up in Sickbay with a lump on his head. Yet he suspected even Worf would be impressed with the rigorous training program this tiny young woman was following.

Then equipment appeared as she stripped her sweat pants to reveal her legs. A leotard, the first clue to what was going on. Her legs were firmly muscled but not unpleasantly so. Lean and toned is how he would describe her compact physique. She began circuit training on a variety of gymnastics equipment with the support of a blank faced holographic coach. Repeated handstands on uneven bars, pull ups, leg lifts. Dropping from handstands into various supported positions, bunny hops. Bouncing jumps that culminated in handstands. Even long handstands and one handed stands as she touched each shoulder in turn. Next she began making standing forward and back flips and flips from spring boards. Her training routine was certainly gruelling, Reg was tired just watching and her remarkable physique was no longer a mystery.

Her intense workout took half an hour in all and she came over to where he was sitting with Nefren curled against his chest and she took a sip of water from her bottle and wiped her face with a towel.

"That looked hard work." Reg told her with a smile.

"I haven't started yet. That was the warm up." she replied and smirked at the shocked expression on his face as she pulled her hand guards out of her bag and put them on.

…

"Three hours, three times a week?" he asked incredulously as they headed back to her quarters so she could shower. He was carrying her bag for her again.

"At least." Taryn replied, Nefren in her arms. She was wearing her sweat pants but had her sweater tied around her hips. "I train twice a day as I approach a competition and I cross train too. Isometric training, running. I used to play hockey…"

"Ice hockey?"

"No field." she gave him a despairing look at his response. "Why does everyone pull that face?"

"What face?" he replied with mock innocence.

"That judgemental knowing smile that means they've inferred something about my gender preference based on a sporting activity I take part in." they shared a smile as they continued to walk. "You're subtler than Haydn. He used to…" she coughed into her hand, disguising the word 'lesbian' ineffectively, "All the time."

"That's not why you quit is it?" he asked with a worried frown.

"No, he never got to me. I took up parkour and something had to give."

"What's that?"

"Free-running? You run across an environment at speed, climbing walls, doing jumps and flips. It's great fun, like urban gymnastics I suppose." Her smile faded. "I do some combat training as well, mixed martial arts, I like to pick and choose rather than follow one discipline. T'Pandra's teaching me _suus mana_ and I get tuition on Orion fighting skills whenever I'm on Barin Prime. I spar with Geoff and Hay sometimes when I get the chance."

"I like to run mostly and swim a little." he added, "and ride horseback, although not so much since my holodeck time got restricted. I like golf too and I took up fencing recently."

"My Grandma Miffy runs a stable." She grinned. "We should go riding when we get home. We could try running together but I have to concentrate on form rather than speed, it annoys my brother Geoff that I don't always keep up with him. He's really fast. I can keep up but I have to tonk it."

"I'd love to run with you." He smiled. "I'm sure I could adjust to your pace. My form could probably use some work." Counsellor Troi had often pointed out that his exercise regime was a solitary one, but it didn't have to be. "I could always make a holodeck program that has two different ground speeds. Like two treadmills but I can make it look like natural terrain."

"You can do that?" she asked, looking amazed. "Will you show me how?"

He nodded with a smile. "I don't know if you noticed but at one point I checked the gravity setting on the holodeck. It was like you were floating between those asymmetric bars." Reg told her.

She smiled. "Thank you, that's my favourite discipline, my coach says it shows."

"You were amazing, your tumbling was incredible. I'm sure you'll do great in your competition." He looked at her askance. "Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself when you fell off the beam? It looked painful. It won't take long to get you checked out." It had certainly been a nasty fall. She had lost her footing, slammed bodily into the beam and hit the floor hard but she got straight back up onto it and carried on as though it had never happened.

"I'm fine, the beam and I are old enemies." she replied. "Bitter rivals in fact. It fractured my skull once when I was younger. I messed up my dismount and staggered backwards."

"But the safeties?" Reg asked with a worried frown. He had always assumed a holographic beam would de-resolve so the gymnast would fall through it, or fields would catch the person to prevent injuries.

"It was a real gym. No safeties. The safeties on hologrids can be a bit ropey too for that matter. Someone at my club broke his neck because two antagonistic fields tried to catch him during a dismount from the rings. It could have ripped his head off. He survived. He made a good recovery but he has permanent nerve damage. It ended his career as a gymnast and he failed the medical for Starfleet. That was his dream." She paused thoughtfully. "The irony is he would have landed it anyway. His dismount was perfect. Since then a lot of us turn off the fields. It's not part of the mortality failsafe system, it's a bonus feature in a lot of programs. A living coach standing nearby can be a safer option and with modern mats most falls aren't that bad unless you land awkwardly."

"That's awful." Reg paused thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll take a look, see if I can come up with something new. I have plenty of time on my hands." he looked at her pensive expression. "Were you close to him?"

"We're friends. He's funny and a nice bloke. He didn't deserve to have his future derailed in a freak accident." She looked at Reg askance. "He wasn't a boyfriend if that's what you're asking."

"I didn't mean to pry." Reg frowned, but that was indeed what he was asking. "I never realised how narrow the beam is. I never realised how hard the training is. It looks so easy." Reg stated.

"The training is similar for ballet. People see the graceful, fluid movements and don't see the hours of training and years of work, sweat and tears that lead up to it." she explained.

"You know, I could construct a holographic coach. Not like the ones on your program. One that can actually coach and provide safety support. I bet there are a lot of kids on starships who'd like to train as gymnasts and can't find a coach."

"That's a clever idea. It's important to have a skilled coach. Gymnastics can affect growth and the onset of puberty. It's not like learning the clarinet. Not to belittle music tutors."

"Did it have an effect on your growth and…" he trailed off. Too embarrassed to actually say the words.

"Are you calling me short?" she asked indignantly, then laughed and elbowed him playfully. "Most competition gymnasts are short because the laws of physics give you an advantage if you're more compact. To some extent it's like saying playing basketball makes you tall. But, I read a case study of identical twins, one a competition swimmer and the other a gymnast and the swimmer grew six inches taller so it's hard to deny it can alter your body. The low body fat the training encourages can also delay menstruation and sexual development in Human girls. In my case I'm built like my Grandma Miffy, she's a short-arse too but I'm also a hybrid so my physiology is atypical."

"No offence, but it seems there's a lot more reasons not to be a gymnast than to be one. And you only answered half my question."

"I do it because I enjoy it, no other reason. Even when I was little I was driven in training. Edara says it's the dancing girl in me seeking an outlet." She looked at him and smirked. "I did answer your question, my physiology is atypical." She smiled at his frustrated expression as they entered the turbolift. "What you really want to know is am I over sixteen? The Federation age of consent for Humans."

"I never said that." he protested weakly and looked at his shoes.

"No, to be fair you didn't say that." she conceded. "And it isn't relevant anyway." She stroked the baby's back as he started to fuss. "I'm celibate." she said as the lift stopped and the doors opened.


	7. Disaster!

**Disaster!**

Reg had followed her to her quarters in a stunned silence. Celibate? What possible reason could there be for a girl between the age of fourteen and eighteen, as he had narrowed it down to, to describe herself as celibate?

"Are you part of some kind of religious order?" he asked as they ate lunch. "Is that the strings you said were attached to your Orion diplomatic role?"

She snorted. "No and no." she replied as she ate her pasta.

"What's funny?"

"It's the idea of celibacy in combination with anything Kolari."

"Kolari?" he frowned.

"The Federation calls us Orions, but we call ourselves Kolari."

"Oh." He picked at his food, not just because he was still suffering from stomach pain. He really couldn't understand the girl sitting opposite him. "Did you take a vow or an oath?"

"No, it's more of a lifestyle choice I suppose." she answered thoughtfully and took a sip of water.

"Is it that you want to wait until you're married?"

"No, marriage has no bearing on my decision." she replied. "I'll never marry."

"Is it that you want to concentrate on your studies? Your gymnastics?"

"No. This isn't a short term commitment."

He paused. "Is it a Vulcan thing?"

"No, it's not a Vulcan thing." She smiled.

"I don't get it. You're wonderful with Nefren. Don't you want a baby of your own someday?"

"I can't, not without medical intervention. As I said, atypical physiology." she replied matter of factly. "I'm a mule."

"Y…you mean you're a… you don't have… you're a…"

"I'm not a hermaphrodite. I'm definitely female but my plumbing… it's not exactly standard for any of my three species. I have all the equipment but…there are hardware conflicts. Even with fertility treatment there's only a percentage of the humanoid population I'm genetically compatible with. But that's not the reason I chose to be celibate."

"So you've just given up on relationships? Love?"

"Yes." she replied.

"Why?" he asked incredulously. "You're young and beautiful, you're a student. You should be making hay while the sun shines. If I was twenty years younger… I'd be far too shy to even look you in the face." he admitted. "But that isn't my point. You're wonderful. You're caring, considerate and loving. Anyone would be lucky to have you as a lover, a partner or a wife."

A shy, dimpled smile formed on her face. "Thank you for the compliment." She paused as she considered his words and sighed deeply. "It's complicated."

"It always is." he replied sadly.

"It's not a decision I made lightly or flippantly."

"I didn't think for a moment it was." he sighed. "I don't think you make any decisions lightly or flippantly." He pushed his plate away. "I just think it's a waste."

The ship shuddered and red alert sounded. Reg instinctively jumped to his feet and headed towards the door purposefully, heading for his duty station.

"Reg." Taryn called. "It kills me to tell you this but you aren't an officer anymore." She stood as Nefren began to cry and picked him up from his little basket beside them. She'd explained to Reg that his condition made him sensitive to bright lights and loud noise and he was clearly distressed by the alert lighting and the sound of the klaxon as he waved his tiny fists and screamed. Reg looked at the ceiling and exhaled slowly. "I know we're supposed to stay here but what should we do?" she asked as she walked over to him. He looked down at her. She was frightened, he could see it in her eyes as she tried to calm the screaming infant and the ship shook. She was a planet dweller unused to extended time aboard ships. "Is it an attack?"

He rubbed her arms. "I don't think so. It feels like an engine problem. Sit on the floor with him by the sofa away from anything that might fall. I'll get some things together in case we lose ship's power." " _Or have to abandon ship._ " he added silently. She nodded and sat cross-legged, rocking with him as he wailed and the ship shimmied. Reg went to the replicator and ordered a rucksack. Then replicated several self-heating stasis bottles of his medicated formula and swept them into the bag. Some babywipes and diapers soon followed and some baby blankets and clothing. He filled the remaining space with more bottles of formula before fastening the bag and heading over to Taryn and dumping it. He then grabbed her bag that she used for everything from the bedroom, knowing it had lotions and potions in it that she regularly used for the baby. He returned to them, pleased to find she had donned the sling and already had Nefren swaddled in it like a papoose against her chest. "It's going to be fine." he assured her as he joined them on the floor, hoping it wasn't a lie.

"I should have made up a go bag." she whispered and kissed the baby's forehead. "I should have thought of it."

"We'll sort one out properly when all this is over." he assured her and took her in his arms as she began to sob and the warning came that they would be separating the saucer. Fear gripped his chest as he realised they were still at warp, a 'save our skins' manoeuvre.

"If anything happens to me promise you'll protect him?" she wailed into his chest, clutching his shirt. "Get him safely to my parents?"

"Nothing is going to happen to you." he whispered into her hair.

"Promise me!" she cried. "I don't care about myself. Just promise you'll take care of Nefren?"

"I promise, of course I promise." he assured her. "I'll guard him with my life. Like he was my own. I promise." He vowed as he cradled her face in his hands and her breath hitched in her chest as she gazed into his eyes. In that moment he realised her age had no bearing on her fear, nor was she afraid for herself. She was afraid for the life of her child. In every way that counted she was Nefren's mother, as much as if she'd given birth to him herself. He never noticed the sensation of the two hulls separating, or the ship rock as the Warp Core in the Secondary Hull exploded. The klaxon stopped, as did the lights but they didn't notice that either, nor were they aware the ship was no longer shaking and feel the change as the saucer dropped out of the warp bubble. They simply sat, transfixed, their breath uneven. He yearned to kiss her tear-stained face, her parted lips. He ached for it and moved closer as she turned her face slightly, her gaze rotating between each of his eyes and his lips. So close he could almost taste her soft breath as his hand slipped to her waist to draw her body closer to his.

Nefren broke the spell, as his cries shifted up a gear. "Shh, it's okay." Taryn whispered. "I think he needs changing or something." she stood and took him to the changing table in the bedroom.

"That makes two of us." Reg said, and rubbed his face distractedly. He'd thought red alerts were hair raising in engineering, but when he had a family to consider...? No. They weren't a family. At best they were travelling companions.

…

"W…why does she want to see me?" Reg asked Duncan as they strode through the ship.

"I don't know." Duncan replied. "She just asked me to bring you to her Ready Room."

"Is it because of the rumours?" He fidgeted with his hands. "If she wants me off the ship I could t…take a shuttle and…"

"And what?" Duncan stopped, crossed his arms and looked at him expectantly.

"Head for Earth. I won't d…do anything stupid."

"In case you haven't noticed we've been at impulse for the last forty-eight hours. You'll probably arrive before we do. Besides, there's a certain small green diplomat who'll raise hell if anyone tries to put you off this ship. Even the Captain." Reg sighed. "Is there a problem between you? There are other arrangements we could make but you won't have as much freedom. I know the baby cries a lot because of his condition…"

"No… No it's' nothing like that. He's no bother and we get along well. It's just… I've not really had many female friends before… or many friends at all for that matter and…" he grasped his left wrist and flexed his hand.

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it? That she's a friend?" Duncan smirked at Reg's expression. "Oh. I see." the Scotsman resumed walking.

"No you don't see." Reg protested and followed him, "Why do people keep saying they see?" He looked nervously around them. "It's not appropriate."

"In what way?" Duncan frowned. "Has she said anything?"

"No… Well, sort of."

"Which?"

"Well, she won't tell me her age. I know it's somewhere between fourteen and eighteen, and she told me she's celibate."

"Really?" Duncan mused. "Well, obviously I can't reveal any personal information about her, but… Do you feel she's leading you on?"

"No, not at all. I mean she… that…first night she got in bed with me. We were clothed and everything of course. She said it was a form of Orion natural healing or something."

"It is." Duncan replied. "Their pheromones increase adrenalin and endorphins along with other hormones in males and can reduce pain. Traditionally Orion Courtesan's would offer it as service to the battle weary. They function almost in a similar way to ancient religious orders on Earth, without the vow of celibacy of course. Instead they vow not to influence the injured or ill."

"Well, um. That's a relief to know." Barclay exhaled with a smile. It was a relief but it was also a disappointment and it showed on Reg's face.

"We can talk about this in our next session, but in the meantime the Captain is waiting." they stepped onto the turbolift together.

"You won't tell her I told you that she's…? She never said she was telling me in confidence but…"

"Celibate? Of course not." Duncan assured him. "But given her heritage I'd be interested to know why. It can't be easy for her biologically." They arrived on the Bridge and Duncan lead him to the Captain's Ready Room.

"Come in, have a seat Mr Barclay?" the Captain stood, walked to the couch and indicated a seat adjacent to her. "Would you like some tea or…"

"No…no thank you Captain Janeway." Reg replied nervously and sat tensely in the seat. She looked at him appraisingly, her hair tied back in a large bun that reminded him of a cottage loaf but he pushed the thought from his mind.

"I've been reading your Starfleet Record." she intoned. Reg blanched visibly. "I'm also aware of the rumours that followed you from your last post."

"I'm a holo-addict okay?" he blurted. "I started making holograms of people I worked with to say things I wasn't brave enough to say in real life and it got out of hand. There were no children, corpses or animals involved domestic or wild in any of the simulations I ran. It wasn't even about s…sex. Not really. I've never done any of the things I'm accused of on or off the holodeck and I'm no danger to anyone on this ship." He stood and headed to the door.

"Aside from yourself?" she commented. "Sit down Mr Barclay, if I believed for a moment you were a necrophiliac paedophilic gerontophiliac with a penchant for bestiality and forced sodomy I would have you in the brig by now. You certainly wouldn't be sharing quarters with a young woman and a baby and I certainly wouldn't be offering you a field commission."

"A…w…w…what?" he stared at her incredulously and she held out a padd to him. He scratched his head and dropped into the seat distractedly as he read the accident report. "I knew it was bad, I could tell from the…" he paled and moved his hand to his mouth.

"No one got out of Engineering, the entire compartment was irradiated and everyone dead before we separated from the Secondary Hull. It happened during shift handover, we lost two-thirds of our engineering staff and our Chief Engineer. We also took heavy damage to the Primary Hull in the blast." Janeway explained. "We're in a nebula known as Bayleron's Dagger, a subspace deadspot." In other words, no way to call for assistance Reg realised. "At Warp we'd have cleared it in half a day but we no longer have that luxury." She brought up a star chart, they were in an out crop of territory that bulged around the Starbase labelled as Olvid. "I've decided to go onwards rather than back to Starbase 63 as we'll regain communications quicker but the fact is we're crippled and we're vulnerable in potentially hostile space. Fortunately, the Olvid are a relatively benign Caj that allow us transit through their space but this region has been known to be frequented by freelancers."

Orion Freelancers, the politically correct way of referring to pirates and slavers. "I can see you're desperate." he handed her the padd. "But I'm not an officer anymore. I was found unsuitable to be an officer. I'm the last person you need." he stood again and headed for the door.

"That's not what Captain Picard wrote in your jacket." she picked up another padd and began to quote from it. "I have long held the conviction that there is no such thing as an officer who is 'not the right material' for any ship. Rather that it is the duty of the Senior Team and supervisors to nurture and encourage all their junior staff to fulfil their full potential. Mr Barclay is an individual who has been described as lacking the 'stuff' to be crew on the Enterprise. On the contrary I have found him to be a man possessing a highly developed intellect and unrivalled technical skill in comparison to other officers of his grade. It is true that Mr Barclay lacks confidence and social skills, and found the transition from the Zhukov to the Enterprise extremely difficult. The fault however, lies with the Senior Staff, most notably the Executive Officer who is charged with the task of crew evaluation for not recognising this and referring Mr Barclay for counselling when the Chief Engineer brought the issue of Mr Barclay's poor socialisation and inattention to duty to him. Instead Commander Riker took no action when Mr Barclay was ridiculed by others in his presence and openly displayed little patience or compassion. His solution was to immediately request a forced transfer to another ship, a request I belayed in favour of a more therapeutic approach. On finding he, among other staff were parodied on the holodeck by Mr Barclay, I'm told Commander Riker used the words. 'Mr Barclay will find out what it means to be threatened.' After Commander Riker was reproached for his inappropriate behaviour on this and other occasions at his crew evaluation he proved these word to be true. A campaign of abuse followed and an already vulnerable, socially awkward man was victimised and charges filed while I was indisposed. Charges I have been unable to reverse since my reinstatement. It is not my habit to be so descriptive in the record of an officer who has left my command under these circumstances but I feel this man has been hounded from his commission despite displaying full compliance and improvement with therapy since his difficulties became apparent. Because of him it is now clear to me some officers are not the 'right stuff' for the Enterprise, but Mr Barclay is not one of them by any means. His discharge is Starfleet's loss." Janeway paused.

"I…I thought Captain Picard agreed. I thought…" Reg frowned. "I didn't realise."

"All the more reason to accept this commission, Lieutenant Commander. Prove Captain Picard's faith in you is justified."

"I…I but… I'm not… I'm not qualified to that level! I was a Junior Grade Lieutenant! I'm on suicide watch!"

"We can make sure you're accompanied at all times if you're hell bent on doing yourself a mischief but the fact is we need your expertise. I've advised all department heads that the rumours about you are spurious and malicious, most have the crew have already expressed their apologies. We're still investigating the source of the notes you received but Mr Tuvok is like a blood hound. We will find whoever it was that harassed you at all hours and they will be punished." she assured him. "We need you Mr Barclay." After a moments silence she sighed and rubbed her brow. "Alright. You have until 1500 think about it. We're meeting in the Conference Room at that time to discuss strategy. If you want the job, be there in uniform. If you're willing to help out as a civilian come as you are. If you don't want to know, and to be frank I wouldn't blame you, take a nap. The ball is in your court Mr Barclay."

 _Author's note._

 _An extra chapter today, partly because the last one was short and also because I lost a friend this week. My furry friend Stealthy, a coal black cat that has been a companion to my partner and I for nearly ten years lost his fight to cancer. Fortunately he only began to seem unwell in the last few days of his life and we will miss him terribly. This chapter is dedicated to him._


	8. Decisions, decisions

**Decisions, decisions…**

"Well? How did it go?" Taryn asked excitedly as he returned to their quarters after the meeting. They had certainly become 'theirs' in the last few days. She squealed as he showed her the two full pips on his uniform collar and hugged him. "I still think you should have taken the full promotion, but congratulations Chief Engineer." He blushed as she kissed his cheek.

"It's only temporary." he told her. "Just till we get back to Earth."

"Even so, you have the chance to end your career on a positive note at least." She brushed some lint from his shoulder. "Duncan tells me you're off suicide watch too. You have your freedom back." She smiled sweetly. "What's wrong?" she asked as his face fell.

He fidgeted with his fingers and began pacing. Of course Duncan told her, he was a fool to think otherwise but he had hoped to stay in their company a little longer. It was almost like being part of a family. They were technically hot-bedding, he'd sleep at night and she'd sleep while he was in session with Duncan if it coincided with the baby napping. They had a routine and he felt part of it and now he'd be alone again. "I'll miss you. Both of you." he whispered.

Taryn took his hand and sat down on the couch, drawing him with her. "I've been thinking. It's not really a Kolari thing, or much of a thing in my family but Nefren needs as many positive male role models as possible to counterbalance the bad influence he'll get from my brothers and… I was wondering if you'd be his Godfather?" Reg looked horrified. "You can say no. I won't be offended." she added.

"No, I mean. I'd be honoured, but are you sure?" Reg asked incredulously. She nodded in response with a wry smile on her face. "Thank you." He smiled and hugged her. "That's…. Wow." He gazed into her eyes, tenderly tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I…I'll get my things together." he said and tore his eyes from hers and stood.

"Do you want to stay?" she asked softly and leaned her elbow on the back of the couch. "I don't want you to feel I'm keeping you here because you're so helpful with the baby, but by the same measure I'd hate for you to think I'm desperate to be shot of you. If you don't feel ready…

"Wouldn't it be…weird if I stayed?" he asked, seeking reassurance that she really wanted him to stay.

"Of course, you're absolutely right." She smiled and rose to her feet. "Onwards and upwards, that's the spirit." She patted him on the shoulder as she headed for the bathroom.

"Oh boy. What an idiot." he whispered. He went over to the baby in his bouncer seat. "Hi, little man." he said and picked him up. "It looks like I'm not going to be around so much from now on." he said as he held him out in front of him to look into his face, his tiny head cradled in his palm. "You'd better be a good boy for your sister okay?" he lifted him to his shoulder and kissed his little head. "Remember I'm your Godfather now, so you can come to me with any problems… except maybe girls, I'm not so hot on that topic. But if you need something fixed I'm your man and I've read a lot of books. I know a lot of great stories." he turned as he realised he was being watched.

Taryn was smiling warmly at him. "You're moving to quarters around the corner, not to another galaxy. You'll still see him, I promise."

"It won't be the same though." Reg whispered. It was true. He wouldn't wake up and see him, or tuck him in at night. Or wake up at the sound of his cry with panic in his chest that something was wrong, then feel the relief when he was just wet or hungry.

"I'm sorry. You've bonded with him." Taryn whispered and stepped closer. "I should have anticipated that."

"Not just him." Reg replied and gazed at her plaintively.

"I should have anticipated that too." she turned away. "What you feel isn't real. Oh, it is with him." she added quickly, "I don't mean to belittle that but even though I hold down my pheromones and turn up the scrub and recycle on the air when I sleep you're being exposed to them. I'm still learning and my control isn't perfect, it isn't something that comes naturally you see? You're becoming addicted to me and it will fade when you aren't living here. It will be better for you. You'll see."

"Does that mean you'll be avoiding me?" he asked with a frown.

"No, of course not. We'll always be friends. I love spending time with you." She smiled.

Reg blushed. No one had ever told him that before. In fact only his Dad and grandparents ever made him feel that way.

…

"Sir? There's a problem with the ODN system on deck four." the young Ensign reported.

"Sorry Ensign? I'm st…still learning names." Reg said as he laid on his back under a console in Auxiliary Engineering, an ODN coupler in his hand. They were rewiring some of the data nodes to try and get the damage reporting system back on line.

"Coupland sir." the man replied. "I transferred from sensor control."

"What kind of problem Mr Coupland?" Reg asked and sat up.

The man crouched and handed him a PADD. "All the classroom computers and holotech is offline. The teachers are up in arms. I checked it out but it's not a quick fix. I'll need to reconfigure three subsystems to bypass the blown interlink here." he pointed to the padd. "I didn't want to start without checking in first Lieutenant."

Reg winced. "Unfortunately ships operation has to take priority right now. Send them my apologies and tell them we'll get to it as soon as we can." he explained. Coupland twitched, the teaching staff had clearly been annoyed and the young officer felt they were likely to rip the messenger a new one. He stood and walked away sadly. "Ensign, hold on." Reg said and stood, then walked over to another terminal to check something, then held up a number of flimsies to the light to examine them. "Holodeck 3 still has power and a data link that shouldn't be affected by the rewire. There should be a classroom program on file for ships that don't have teaching facilities. They'll have to work out a rota but the computers in that simulation should run. I'll clear it with Ops for them to have priority during school hours."

"Thank you sir, I'll set it up for them." Coupland smiled. He walked past Taryn, nodding to her as she entered, the baby in his sling.

"You really shouldn't be down here." Reg told her, but couldn't hide his smile. He nudged the sling aside to see the baby's face, he was sucking his thumb and he seemed to look up at Reg. "Hey little man. How're you doing?" he asked him. "He seems really calm today." he noted.

"He does, it's making me suspicious, like he's up to something." She smiled. "I'm here on official business. Duncan is worried you're skipping meals and you've been working for the last thirty-nine hours straight. He thought we'd be more successful at luring you away from duty than a direct order."

"Ordinarily he'd be right but…"

"Take an hour. Come and have some dinner?" She looked at him earnestly. "You'll be no use to anyone hypoglycaemic and flaked out on the floor."

"An hour?" he looked at her and smiled.

…

It had already been two hours when he looked across at her. He had bathed the baby and fed him while Taryn took the opportunity for a rare solo and uninterrupted sonic shower and he was sleeping peacefully in his crib. "Taryn?" Reg said as he stirred his noodles with his chopsticks. They were sitting on the floor with an assortment of Chinese food laid out family style on the coffee table.

"Hmm?" Taryn replied as she swallowed a mouthful of food.

"Why are you hanging out with an old fart like me when there are people your own age on board?"

"For a start you aren't an old fart." she replied with a chiding glance. "Did any of them graduate from high school at thirteen?"

"Not that I'm aware of." he replied.

"Are any of them studying towards a combined Bachelors and Master's Degree?"

"Unlikely."

"Do any of them have an IQ of 204?"

"I doubt it." he responded.

"Does that answer your question?" She put down her rice bowl. "I don't mean to brag. It's just there is no one my age. I don't fit in on Earth, I don't fit in on Barin Prime and I don't fit in on Vulcan. I stand out like a sore thumb at Daystrom and I certainly don't fit here. I fit with my family in a cottage in Wiltshire and at my Miffy's stables because they love and accept me unconditionally. Nowhere else. I have a deferred place at Starfleet Academy and I very much doubt I'll fit in there either. I'm not certain I should even try now I have Nefren and given how Starfleet treated you. I think I enjoy your company because you seem to understand what it feels like to be… an outsider. I hope that doesn't offend you?"

Reg shook his head and considered her words as he ate. "Is that why you chose to be celibate? You don't think you'll fit in a relationship either?"

"I hadn't thought of it like that." She frowned and scooped some chicken chow mein into her bowl. "No, it may be part of it but there are other reasons."

"Okay, say tomorrow or next week or whenever the person of your dreams walks into your life..." Reg began.

"Does he have nice abs? Broad shoulders?" she asked. "Good looking?"

"He has the body and face of an angel." Reg replied, rather pleased she at least preferred men. "A butch, macho angel."

She gave him a wry smile. "Clever?" she continued eating.

"Mind like a steel trap." Reg stated and ate some noodles.

"And this hypothetical paradigm adores me I suppose?"

"He worships you." Reg told her. "He'd give anything to be near you."

"Hmmm. Both Edara and Miffy tell me it never lasts with pretty boys."

"This pretty boy is ready to make a lasting commitment, he's on one knee…"

"Did I kick him in the balls?" she smirked.

"He's begging for your hand in marriage."

"Begging eh?" she smiled. "What's the ring like?"

"It's huge. Ostentatiously so. You'd think there's a shuttlecraft somewhere missing a navigation light." Reg smirked.

"Do I strike you as the type to have my head turned by gaudy bling?" she asked with an arched brow.

"Okay, It's small, tasteful. A solitaire, no a trilogy." he reconsidered as he watched her reaction.

"Better. Diamonds?" she arched a brow.

"What else?" he matched her brow. "Flawless, perfect clarity." " _Just like you_." he added silently.

"Mined or artificial?"

"I don't know, it was his dead grandmother's." Reg was beginning to lose patience with this game.

"Ew."

"His alive grandmother's." Reg corrected at her scandalised expression. "Not that I was implying he went grave robbing."

"Does she give her blessing?"

"She thinks you're perfect." Reg smiled. " _Because you are._ " Reg slapped his inner monologue. The last thing he needed was another dose of unrequited love, although he suspected he was closing the stable door when the horse was in the next county.

"Okay." she considered. "I'm just imagining the scene, getting into the zone." she flexed her neck and cracked her knuckles. Reg winced, but he did find her timing amusing. "Aww Chad..."

" _Of course it would be Chad._ " he mused. " _I've tried to invent her perfect mate and come up with a douchebag, and she knows it!_ "

"…It's really sweet of you to ask. But, I'm really not looking for marriage or a romantic relationship because I'm celibate. Yes, that does include sucking your cock. No, I won't wank you off with my tits either. Hot dogging is out too."

"Hot dogging?" Reg frowned.

"Rubbing it between bum cheeks. Like a sausage in a bun."

"People do that?" Reg asked incredulously. "You don't mean… up the…"

"No, just rubbing it along the crack and some people do. Not me personally you understand?" she asked as she loaded her chopsticks with food.

Reg scratched his head. He found the idea she may very well know more about sex than him a little perturbing, given how young she was. He was tempted to ask how experienced she was, but that would be crossing a line and would no doubt lead to her asking the same of him and he certainly didn't want to go there.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" Reg frowned at her question, he was beginning to wonder if she was a telepath.

"I t…told you…"

"You said you weren't married, that doesn't mean you aren't involved with anyone." she replied. "You could have a girl in every spaceport…"

"No, I don't have a girlfriend, I'm not involved with anyone. Why do you ask?" he snapped defensively.

"Sorry, I didn't realise a double standard applied." she stated.

"What? What do you mean?" he frowned.

"Well, you seem fascinated by my intimate details and sexuality. I didn't realise I wasn't allowed to reciprocate."

"It's…I'm just not used to…I didn't mean…" he frowned. "I'm sorry. I should go."

"No, I'm just making a point that's all." she grabbed his wrist. "Finish your dinner. I'm sorry, I didn't intend to make you feel uncomfortable."

"You aren't offended?"

"Of course not. Don't be a prat." She smiled at him warmly.

"It's just… I've never met anyone like you." he said, realising she was still holding his hand.

"I told you, there is no one else like me."

…

Reg woke with a start at the sound of the baby crying. His team assured him all was going well down in Auxilliary Engineering and they would call if they needed him so they had decided to watch a holo-vid after dinner and Taryn had snuggled up beside him and fallen asleep. It wasn't like her, the baby must've been running her ragged since he moved out a week ago. She'd told him she could comfortably go a week without sleep, around half as much as a full Vulcan. Ordinarily three hours sleep a day was around her maximum, which fitted well with the baby feeding every three hours but often he would scream as soon as he was put down, only comforted by being held and that was a strain even with her physiology. Reg had pulled a throw over her, and in doing so she had slipped under his arm against his chest. He hadn't wanted to disturb her so he'd continued watching the movie, her in his arms, his head resting against hers. The combination of the dim lights, the comfort of her proximity, her pheromones and the long hours he'd worked finally all caught up with him. He had no idea how the movie ended but the screen was blank.

"What time is it?" Taryn asked as she sat up, blinking and rose to see to the baby without waiting for an answer.

He was too exhausted to move and rolled onto the couch, falling straight back to sleep.


	9. Oops, he did it again…

Oops, he did it again…

The smell of fresh coffee roused him, and he woke to see a green hand holding a mug under his nose.

"Time to wake up sleepyhead." She smiled down at him.

"What time is it?" he asked, taking the mug, then realised he was in her bed and his chest was bare.

"0630." She replied. "You have time for breakfast and a shower, a shit and a shave before you're on duty." She sipped from her mug of herbal tea as she perched on the bed beside him.

"How did I? We didn't? Did we?" he asked with a worried frown.

She rolled her eyes. "That's turning into your catchphrase Reg. Along with 'oh boy'." She copied his intonation as well as the words.

"Do I say that a lot?"

"Yes." she replied with a smile. "Don't panic, I tried to make you more comfortable with a cushion and you stood up and walked in here. I didn't think you were properly awake so I just went with it. You stripped off and literally fell into the bed."

He peered under the covers. "Oh boy!" he said on realising he was stark naked and drew the covers to his chest protectively. "Did I say anything?" he asked with a worried frown.

"You mumbled a bit, and tried to pull me into bed with you."

"Oh boy." he looked mortified and she smirked. "Did I hurt you?"

"No. You were sweet actually." She drained her mug. "Time to hit the shower Tiger, or you'll be late for your morning briefing."

He rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand and sipped his coffee as he watched her walk from the room. It was just how he liked it. He sighed, she seemed to be his perfect girl and she was real. The only problem was it was utterly hopeless.

…

Reg swore, it wasn't something he did often. He was above all a gentleman and was raised to believe manners maketh man. In this case man was being sorely tested. He grasped the edge of the terminal to drag himself up from the floor as the red alert klaxon sounded. From the feel of the way the ship suddenly skewed sideways, knocking him to the floor they had either hit something, or something had hit them. The panel flashed like a Christmas tree with damage throughout the power system before it blew and he was knocked flat on his back, his arm over his face instinctively to shield him from the blast. Everything went dark aside from the flames until emergency lighting came on.

"You okay sir?" Ensign Michaels shouted as she extinguished the terminal with a hand-held fire suppressor.

"I'm fine." he said and stood up. He grabbed another extinguisher and helped her, the fire suppression system was apparently offline on top of everything else and the shields were taking a hammering from something from the way the ship was bucking around. He tapped his communicator. "Barclay to Bridge."

" _Where a little busy Reg, is there a problem?_ " Janeway responded.

"We're in the dark down here, is the Engineering console on the Bridge online?"

" _Looks like it._ "

"Thank you Captain." he responded. "Head to shield control. Prioritise keeping the shields up." he told Michaels. "I'll head to the Bridge to coordinate damage control."

"Aye sir." she replied and took off at a run, her blonde braid flailing behind her.

He tapped his communicator as soon as he was on the turbolift. "Barclay to Guest Quarters five."

" _I'm here Reg, are you okay?"_ Taryn replied, the baby shrieking in the background.

"I just wanted to check on you both." he replied as he steadied himself against the wall.

" _We're fine apart from making a fuss over the noise. You just take care of yourself Lieutenant._ "

He sighed with relief as the turbolift opened on to the Bridge. On the main viewscreen there was a small Orion ship circling, taking pot shots at them. Reg headed to the Engineering Station, fortunately things weren't as bad as they seemed from the panel in Auxilliary Engineering before the power went out.

"Mr Barclay, can we get a tractor beam online?" Janeway asked, approaching his station.

"I..I think so Captain. It'll just take a moment." He rerouted power rapidly and turned towards the Ops Station. "You should have power, but you'll need to reinitialise the graviton generators." he told the officer.

"What? How?" the young officer looked up wide-eyed.

"It's the…" Reg ran across to the Ops Terminal. "Like this." he leaned over to key in the sequence.

"But that procedure isn't in the manual. You'll overload the…" the Ops Officer protested with a frown, then looked surprised as the tractor system came online. "We have tractor power."

"Mr Tuvok, grab that ship and knock down their shields." Janeway ordered. "Thank you Mr Barclay."

"Don't thank me, thank Montgomery Scott for designing the tractor systems over spec." Reg stated and returned to the Engineering terminal.

"Dead for eighty years and the man's still working miracles." Janeway mused.

"We have them Captain. There are two crew aboard, I have transported them to the brig." Tuvok reported.

"Thank you Mr Tuvok, you're with me." Janeway stated as she left headed for the turbo lift. "Let's see what variety of fish we caught."

…

"Yes, I know them. They attend school with my cousin Lural on the Homeworld." Taryn stated as she looked at the faces of the two boys on the screen in the conference room, via surveillance camera. She rubbed the baby's back to quiet him as he snuggled in his papoose on her front. "I wouldn't call them small fry, but they're certainly not of age. The older boy is Beren, first born of the Tahedri of the Caj Corvas and the younger is his brother Endar."

"Are you saying we were attacked by two rich kids out on a joy-ride in their Daddy's ship?" Janeway asked incredulously and exchanged glances with her senior team.

"Essentially, yes." Taryn stated. "They're a pair of spoiled brats in a hurry to prove themselves to their father. Too young and foolish to care about the consequences."

"The question is, what do we do with them?" Tuvok intoned.

"There's a bigger picture here." Taryn stated and switched the screen to a view of their captured ship. "This ship is a prototype."

"Are you sure?" Reg asked looking at the image carefully.

"It's a hybrid, it has components of three different ships. The torpedo launchers, the nacelles and the nose cone…they don't go together." Taryn explained.

"I believe Miss Prior is correct." Tuvok replied. "The differences are subtle, but they are apparent." he brought up the specifications of the three original ships.

"Also it has the Corvas insignia… and three of these access codes you found on board are for known Syndicate outposts." she said as she continued slotting each of the handful of isolinear chips they had discovered on searching the vessel into her Orion padd to decode them. "Make that four." she handed the device to the Captain.

"My God." Janeway intoned as she examined the readout before passing it to Tuvok.

"I don't see the problem?" the CMO an older doctor named Jones with a grey beard asked.

"They've outed their father and by extension his Caj as part of the Syndicate. Something my Grandmother has suspected for a while but been unable to prove. They've also entered Olvid territory. The original Corvas was an Olvid slave and there has always been bad blood between their families. They feud at the drop of a hat. They've also breached the Imperial Neutrality Covenant agreed by all Tahedrin by attacking a Federation vessel and add to that they're in an experimental ship? Also if word gets out that I'm on board a ship they attacked the Caj Barin will seek revenge. I'm Edara's intended heir. For the moment anyway." Taryn explained, with an apologetic look to Reg that she hadn't told him she was next in the line of succession.

"The Corvas will destroy us to save face." Janeway stated. "They won't want anyone to find out what we know."

"From an Orion point of view you have four options." Taryn began and counted them on her fingers. "Keep hold of the two little toerags and wait for Corvas to come looking for them and kill us all. Send them packing with a flea in their ear and wait for Corvas to come after us to cover it up by killing us all." Taryn explained. "Abandon the ship. Get everyone on shuttles or runabouts, anything with warp dive and get out of Bayleron's Dagger as fast as we can. Once the word is out on subspace there'll be nothing left to cover up."

"And the fourth?" Janeway asked.

"Kill the boys, destroy the ship. Deny all knowledge of them if the Corvas ask." Taryn replied. "That would be what Corvas would do. Admittedly it's not the most moral or palatable option. Option two would buy you the most time. The boys will probably lie before they admit to their father they got caught, but they'll tell eventually. They're still only kids."

"We could send one shuttle to transmit a message?" Tuvok suggested.

"I'd prefer not to involve my Orion family if avoidable. I'd hate to trigger a blood feud." Taryn stated.

Janeway nodded her assent. "Thank you Miss Prior, you've given us a lot to consider."

"I'm sorry I don't have better news. If I can be of further help please let me know Captain?" Taryn stood and stepped out of the room.

"Could she be wrong?" the Ops Officer, a young man named Landry asked. "She's very young."

"She's being groomed to be the next Tahedri of her Caj." Tuvok stated. "Her knowledge of Caju politics is likely to be unsurpassed."

"I have to ask this, can we trust her?" Dr Jones asked. "She is Orion."

"She's also half-Human and a Fleet Brat, raised within the Federation." Janeway added. "She knows the score, she's not playing games, unlike the two idiots in our brig." Janeway rubbed her temple and walked over to the window.

"If it weren't for the Academy entrance age she'd be a cadet instead of a student at Daystrom." Reg added. "She aced the entry exams and has a deferred place waiting. She's loyal to her Caj but she'd never betray the Federation."

"Let's hope we live long enough to see her in uniform." Janeway muttered. "Can anyone see any other options?" she looked at the collection of blank faces. Janeway tilted her head. "Very well. Mr Barclay, please prepare a shuttlecraft. I want it fast and I want it armed to the teeth. Mr Tuvok and Ms Bennett, you will pilot the shuttle at maximum warp out of this nebula and sent an encoded transmission to Starfleet, not a distress call. There are enough sharks in the vicinity without alerting them to blood in the water." Bennett, the Conn Officer nodded her agreement.

"What about our prisoners Captain?" Counsellor Fraser asked. "Mr Doon and McCavity." he added wryly.

"Are those the names they gave?" Jones laughed mirthlessly. "Ben Doon and Phil McCavity? At least they have a sense of humour. I haven't heard that one in years."

"Orion culture has absorbed a number of alien influences over time." Tuvok noted. "Including Earth humour."

"Their jolly jape is liable to get us all killed." Janeway pointed out shaking her head. "Unless we can scare the living daylights out of them." Janeway turned up the audio on the custody suite. It sounded as though the boys were singing to each other. "They're singing?"

"No, it's definitely a language but the universal translator is struggling with it." Duncan stated. "It's based on Orion but we believe it's too nuanced for the UT to grasp. Given time…."

"Do we have any Orion speakers among the crew? We've been working the border for some time now." Janeway asked.

"Orions rarely speak their own language in front of others." Reg explained. "They're speaking High Kolari. Even among their own people few speak it. It's a dialect reserved for ritual and diplomacy. Ta… Miss Prior told me." he added, blushing. "She tells the baby stories in the High Tongue. It seems to soothe him."

"Then it appears we need more of her help." Janeway commented.

…

"You understand what we need Miss Prior?" Janeway asked in the observation room beside the interview suite.

"Yes, Captain. I'll try and draw them to speak Federation Standard if I can. I know they know it, they're just being snobs. I'll need to be… assertive with them. Possibly more than you would a Human of their age." She handed the baby to Reg and he settled into the crook of his elbow. Reg stood beside Duncan to watch the interview, on screen the boys were already sat on the far side of the table.

"You're sure they won't be more responsive to a male officer?" Janeway asked.

"Despite outward appearances Kolari culture is matriarchal. They'll stamp their feet and beat their chests about it but they will defer to a high-ranking female. They'd see a male as a challenge. Someone to outwit. Beren is nearly thirteen, he may just be old enough to be affected by my pheromones, Endar certainly isn't, but they will have seen older males respond to the influence of females and should associate my scent with that behaviour."

"In that case if you're ready?" she indicated with her hand and the two women entered the corridor.

Taryn's body language was certainly assertive as she entered the room. In fact, Reg almost didn't recognise her image on the screen. She glared at the boys then turned her glare on Captain Janeway.

"I was given to believe you were holding men here, not suckling pups!" she snapped.

"I'm no pup, you quarter bred whore!" Beren shouted and rose to his feet. "I should cut you open to prove you're pink on the inside _F'deraxt'la_!"

Taryn cuffed him hard around the head despite him being much taller than her, even his younger brother was taller by a head and they were both muscular and bare chested in tight pants with decorated bracers on their forearms. Their hair cropped short as it wasn't the tradition to shave your head until you were of age, if you had head hair which not everyone did. Strong androgens in green Orions lead the males to be heavily muscled but also caused loss of head hair in adult males. Many who retained their hair removed it to appear more masculine although fashions were changing. A few of her trendier cousins wore their hair long or braided, mohawks were another recent trend in male grooming. "Learn your place boy-child!" she hissed. "Are you too stupid to realize the trouble you're in?"

"Our father will come for us and obliterate this ship!" he yelled.

"Your father will disinherit you when he learns his heir and spare can't even take a crippled vessel without getting caught." she drew back and gave him an earnest look. One that said 'do you get it now, idiot?' "If you were my sons I'd blow you up along with this ship to be rid of your worthless hides."

"I'd sooner die than be your son, mongrel bitch. Our father will be proud that we told them nothing." Beren defended and slammed his fist on the table.

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to learn you were so ashamed of the name he gave you, you used another. You are princes, not slavers or pirates born in the gutter! Did your mother teach you nothing of our ways? Of what it means to be of high birth?" she berated them. "Then there's the matter of using the High Tongue before outsiders." she clicked her tongue repeatedly. "You should know better than that Beren." She paced around them with her arms folded, shaking her head.

"What are you going to do with us?" Endar asked softly.

"Sorry?" Taryn touched her ear as she paced.

"What are you going to do with us, my Princess?" he corrected.

"Good question little Prince." she mused as she continued to pace, returning his courtesy to at least some extent. "If it were up to me I'd throw you both out of the nearest airlock. Send you floating home." She continued pacing for a moment to let this sink in. "Fortunately for you the Olvid object to people jettisoning refuse in the Dagger." she looked shrewdly to Captain Janeway. "What's the maximum Federation punishment for piracy?"

"Thirty years in a penal colony." Janeway replied.

"Thirty years." Taryn repeated appraisingly. "And the embarrassment of course. It's hardly surprising most Captains and crew commit _Vyun-pashan_ rather than be caught. Pity you missed your chance for that option. You'll be forty-two, all the best high-born females will be long taken by the time you're released Beren. Even the dregs will be married off." She smirked. "You'll have to pay a courtesan to give you an heir."

"We'll never tell." Beren whispered as he sat, then met her gaze steadily. "Let us go and we'll never tell, my Princess."

"You're brighter than you look, my Prince." Taryn smirked briefly towards Janeway, out of the boys' sight. "But that's not up to me." she looked to the Captain.

"I'm sure we can take pity on these two pathetic wretches, as it's mutually beneficial. It will save on paperwork if nothing else." Janeway intoned sternly

Taryn leaned in between their seats, her face close to theirs. "Remember this my Princes. Remember that you owe your continued existence to me and the _F'deraxt'la._ Your lives belong to us and if you cross us your father will hear of your shame along with the entire Tahedrin. I swear that on the Mother."

…

"Will they tell?" Reg asked as he walked them back to their quarters, the baby still in his arms.

"Probably." Taryn replied. "I think Beren will cave first. Endar has the more _cluros_ of the two _._ "

Reg suspected _cluros_ translated as balls, but was a little afraid to confirm this. "You said it was wrong of them to speak High Orion in front of outsiders."

"Hmm?" Taryn replied, a little distracted, he assumed by their predicament.

"You speak it in front of me? To him?" He looked down at the boy in his arms as they stopped outside her quarters.

She smiled, an open and unguarded smile that warmed his heart. "You aren't an outsider, not to me."

A smile to match hers spread over his face. "Are you packed? All ready to go if need be?"

"I have ten days' worth of his feed as well as blankets and clothing for him in a bag by the door." she smiled. "My bag is always ready to go. They told me I'm allowed a bag for each of us."

Reg nodded. "If the call comes, don't wait for me." he grabbed her upper arm with his free hand to settle her objections. "I mean it. Promise me if I'm on duty you'll get your behinds onto your assigned escape vessel?"

"But Reg?" she pleaded.

"I won't be far behind you. I have no plans to go down with the ship. I'll take care of myself but I need to know you'll do the same."

She nodded, "I promise." she stepped closer to him and rested her head against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she held him tight around the waist. He wanted to reassure her, to tell her everything would be alright but they were both well aware that it would be a lie.


	10. Taking Flight

**Taking flight**

"Captain, I have Orion ships on long range scans." the officer at Tactical reported.

"Which faction?" Janeway asked calmly.

"Corvas." came the reply.

At the Engineering Station Reg blanched. Flop sweat broke out on his brow and he leaned on the terminal to steady himself. He didn't hear his name when he was called.

"Mr Barclay? I asked if we were ready?" Janeway drew him from his trance as she turned her chair to face him.

"Yes, erm. Sorry Captain." he cleared his throat. "All warp capable craft are in full working order."

"Mr Landry?" Janeway asked.

"Lieutenant Houghton, Counsellor Fraser and I have ensured every shuttle is fully stocked with emergency rations and medical supplies. We're as ready as we'll ever be." the young man replied.

"In that case," she activated the panel to make a ship wide announcement. "All hands, this is Captain Janeway. Prepare to evacuate the Horizon."

…

Houghton grunted as she slammed into him and caught her just before she fell. "Whoa!" he shouted to the Zakdorn, Taryn in his arms holding the baby protectively in his sling having dropped the baby's bag, hers slung across her body. "Watch who you're shoving! We've got women with babies here!" He glared as Ootani knocked a small girl to the floor with his baggage, making her cry. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"Keep your child quiet." the Zakdorn told the weeping child's pregnant mother as she swept her up in her arms. "I don't like to be disturbed." He pushed Kit aside as she was assisting another heavily pregnant woman aboard the extensively retrofitted runabout with her husband. They had stripped out the berths in favour of rows of reclining seats and turned the living compartment into a delivery room with a birthing chair, just in case. "Take my bags girl." he said as he shoved two cases into the nurse's arms, still dragging a large trunk.

"Dr Ootani?" Heath approached him. "You aren't assigned to this ship."

"I'm not leaving this ship on a vessel that doesn't have medical staff on board." Ootani stated. "She's a passenger like me, why should she get special treatment?" he pointed to Taryn.

"This is the obstetric and paediatric vessel. The pregnant, their family and children with medical needs are listed for this ship. There are clear priorities for who gets to travel on ships with Doctors." Houghton told him and grabbed his bags from Kit. "In what way do you qualify?"

"I have a headache." Ootani protested. "All these screaming children." He shot an evil look to the mother of the girl he had knocked over and Taryn who was trying to soothe the baby.

"Every vessel has at least one Starfleet officer on board, all of which are trained in basic first aid and can treat a headache." Houghton stated, "So take your shit…" Heath said, shoving Ootani's hefty bags into the man's chest, "...and go find your assigned vessel."

"It already left." Ootani sneered.

"I guess you'll be walking then, because we don't have room!" Houghton shouted.

"We'll see about this!" Ootani shouted as he walked away, towing his baggage behind him.

"Are you okay Jessica?" Houghton said to the little girl who was sobbing. "If you'll take her on board Mrs Danning? I'll check her in a moment." he said as he gently touched the child's back. "You okay?" he asked Taryn stepping closer to her. She nodded brightly as she tried to settle the baby. "I promised Reg I'd take care of you both and I nearly let you get knocked on your ass before we even take off." Her expression hardened. "Not that you need looking after." he added quickly and ran his hand over his dark, close cropped hair.

"Did he pull strings to get us on a medical ship?" she asked earnestly.

"No, you have a baby with complex needs who is on medication. You're entitled to be here. He just asked if I would volunteer for the same ship. He thought you'd benefit from having friends around." Houghton explained as he helped her on board. "Okay, I think we're ready to dust off." he said to Kit as she double checked the list. "Oh for fu.."

Ootani was approaching with a junior officer towing his luggage for him. The young man was trying not to laugh. As they drew closer it was apparent the Zakdorn was bleeding from the face. "He tried to oust Lieutenant Rendar's wife so he could have a window seat. This is the last medevac craft." the ensign sniggered in Houghton's ear. Houghton could just imagine the reaction from the strapping, web-handed Zaldan. He would have appreciated Ootani's lack of manners but certainly not him manhandling his tiny, Betazoid wife.

"One bag only." Houghton told the Zakdorn in a tone that brooked no argument as the ensign jogged back to his shuttle.

"I'm not leaving without my belongings." Ootani argued.

"Stay then." Houghton said with a shrug and turned away. The Zakdorn grabbed his hand luggage and followed Heath onto the runabout.

"That slut has two bags!" Ootani shouted, pointing at Taryn as she stowed her bag in a locker under the seats they had fitted for passengers.

"If you are referring to the Princess, she has one bag, Prince Nefren has another." Heath shouted at the Zakdorn. "Take your seat and strap in!" he yelled and pointed at an empty seat. "Stand then, I don't give a shit." Heath stalked to the cockpit. "Dust off Mike. Let the fucker fall on his ass." he told the pilot as he took the co-pilots seat.

"What about my injuries?" Ootani protested.

"The nebula is rough on smaller craft. We'll treat you once we're clear. A busted nose is rarely life threatening." Kit explained as the runabout Coleridge began to taxi out of the shuttlebay. As they accelerated out into space the Zakdorn went flying and crawled into his seat as the runabout juddered violently and fumbled with the belt.

…

Things were not going well. All the shuttles had departed and they still had officer's on board the Horizon. Reg was one of them along with two of his team, Michaels and Coupland. To make matters worse the auto-destruct sequence was counting down and the three of them were wrestling with the clamps that held the Captain's Yacht to the ship.

" _Reg?_ " Janeway's voice echoed in the tiny compartment via his communicator.

"The docking clamps must've taken damage Captain. They're seized." Reg grunted as he inserted a large hyperspanner into a gap and leant his full weight on it. "I think you'll have to power engines and try and rip free."

" _Okay, get clear, all three of you_."

"If we keep up the pressure you'll have a better chance. Punch it." Reg told her, exchanging glances with his two officers. "It's been a privilege." he whispered, still trying to lever the clamp, all of them aware the compartment they were in would decompress once the Yacht broke free.

"Same here sir." Michaels replied as she did the same and Coupland nodded with a smile as they felt the vibration of the Yacht below them.

Reg was thrown back as the clamp gave way, his right wrist and hand searing with white hot pain. He felt a change in air pressure as the compartment threatened to breach, at least his arm wouldn't hurt for long, he thought wryly. He looked at his two officers, also on the floor and the room began to shimmer as they were gripped in a transporter beam.

"Mr Landry!" Janeway barked. "Get us the hell out of here." she ordered as she stepped onto the pad. "Ms Michaels, get the medkit." she said as she crouched beside Reg. "I'm no doctor but I'm fairly certain that's fractured."

Reg looked in horror, his wrist was 's' shaped and a jagged white bone was sticking out of his forearm, through his uniform sleeve and it was bleeding profusely.

" _Brace for impact!_ " Landry called over the com and the ship rocked as the Saucer Section exploded.

"We can't do much here, but well transfer you to one of the medical runabouts as soon as we catch up with our fleet." Janeway said as she gave Reg a hypo for the pain. He whimpered at the sensation and passed out.

 _…_

"What the hell just happened?" Heath shouted as everything went dark and the engines stopped.

"No power, no life support. We just have the air in the cabin." Mike reported, holding a palm beacon and handing one to Heath. "We're dead in the water sir."

"Great, all we need." Houghton said as he headed back through the runabout until he reached the living area.

"Someone plugged this into the main power tie." Taryn said as she pulled the charred device free and examined it. Kit holding the light for her. "I think it's some sort of kitchen implement. She pulled out the burnt remains of a sandwich. "I think it's a toaster of some sort?" she said incredulously. "It's blown the system."

"You know about this stuff? Power ties?" Heath asked her.

"A little. I'm training as a cyberneticist, a lot of the principles are the same." she replied, the baby wriggling in his papoose as the torchlight caught his face. "I'm not bad at fixing things."

"Think you can get life support back online? Lights? Heat?" Heath asked. "We don't have any Engineering crew on board, just a pilot, me and Kit." he whispered into her ear to avoid causing alarm to the passengers.

"I can try." she replied and headed forwards once Kit handed her the palm beacon.

"You're going to let that unqualified slattern work on the ship?" Ootani asked, standing behind Heath. "I'm the most highly qualified person here." he said indignantly.

"Let me guess, this is yours?" Heath asked, waving the unapproved device in the Zakdorn's face.

"Before your substandard power grid destroyed it, yes. I assume I'm going to be compensated for its loss." Ootani stated.

"Compensated?" Houghton clenched his jaw and tried to contain his temper.

"I demand you let me oversee repairs." Ootani argued. "Who knows what that whore is doing. It's probably her fault we're in this situation. She probably sabotaged the warp drive on the Horizon and stranded us here for her friends to come and pick over the spoils."

"Doctor..." Houghton began. "The person who has stranded us here, right now is you. Hear that? There's no air circulating. No more oxygen because you refuse to eat a replicated grilled cheese!" He paused for effect. "You may be highly qualified but as far as I'm aware the ability to tot up column of figures doesn't qualify you to fix a power grid!"

"How dare you!" Ootani snapped. "I'm a pure mathematician, you make me sound like an accountant." Emergency lights came on in the cabin and Heath breathed a sigh of relief.

"One more word from you and I'll sedate you." Heath warned him and went to see what the situation was.

"We have emergency power and life support thanks to Miss Prior." Mike told him as he held the light for her.

"I should be able to get the reactor up and running with Mike's help." Taryn said. "Then we can restart the warp drive." She stood and wiped her hands on a towel. "The problem is the computer core is fried. The power surge spiked it."

"No computer, no navigation." Mike stated.

"And the replicator subsystem took a hit because that's where he plugged in. No replicators, no water in the toilets or shower rooms." Taryn explained.

"And the subspace antennae got zapped during the overload." Mike told them. "No communications, we can't call the fleet for assistance."

"Let's hope someone noticed we dropped out of warp." Heath rubbed his face distractedly. "Maybe they'll come looking. We'd better set the heads to purify and recycle. Emergency rations and fluid conservation protocols until further notice. Let's try not to create too much alarm. We have a number of pregnant colonists on board as well as crew. Let's keep our cool."

"I'll see if there's anything I can do to get things working but without a replicator to make parts, replace burned out cabling…" Taryn chewed her lip.

"You just do what you can honey, no one expects you to pull miracles out of your ass. We'll help if we can. You just let us know, right Mike?" Heath told her.

"Yeah, we may be able to cannibalise parts from other systems if we have to. We'll see what we can come up with." he winked at Taryn. "With your brains and my looks on the case we'll be fine."

"Heath, Lieutenant Anarista's water just broke." Kit told him as she ran towards them.

"Great, if you need me I'll be delivering Enolian triplets." Heath stated and turned to follow his nurse. "I'm gonna kill that Zakdorn. Hippocrates never had to handle this shit."

…

"W…what do you mean we've lost contact with the Coleridge?" Reg asked as the Chief Medical Officer worked on him.

"Hold still son." the elderly doctor named Jones warned him as he tried to relocate his dislocated wrist and yank his shattered forearm into position. "You'll be a lot more comfortable once we get this reduced and splinted."

"They dropped out of warp suddenly, almost as soon as we cleared the nebula. It sounds like a power failure." Janeway explained. "The Shelley reported it went dark as it fell out of the warp bubble."

"Dark?" Reg eyes darted as he considered this. "If they lost coms as well as warp drive and cabin lights that sounds like the main power tie blew." Reg stated with alarm. "I put Taryn and the baby on that runabout."

"As soon as we rendezvous with Tuvok and Bennett we're going to begin a search." Janeway promised him.

"That's too late, they could have frozen to death by then, they probably lost life support." He got off the biobed. "They don't have an Engineer. We have to look now."

"He has a point Captain." Dr Jones advised as they followed him to the cockpit of the Melville. "We have a lot of vulnerable people on that runabout."

"Show me where the Coleridge was last seen?" Reg asked the pilot, clutching his broken wrist. He squinted at the star chart. "That's not that big a search area Captain. When we find them we may be able to catch up." Reg suggested, his eyes wide. 'If' was not a word he could face at present.

"We could move our patients from here to your yacht with Lieutenant Sitor." Jones suggested. "I'll go back with Nurse Jones. There's always the Wordsworth to handle any emergencies."

"I'll go too Captain." Reg stated. "I might be able to get them moving again, It'll be easier than towing the ship."

"At least I'll get the chance to splint his wrist Captain." Jones argued.

"All right, do it. But I want you to stay in touch." she warned.


	11. Breaking Point

**Breaking point...**

"What are you doing?" Taryn asked as she found Ootani rummaging through her bags. The baby was hungry and crying so she was taking a break from repairs to feed him. Kit joined her when she heard her exclamation.

"I know the evidence is here." Ootani shouted. "You're up to something. You…you saboteur! You're bound to be carrying contraband, illegal devices." he stood and glared at her. "Alien sex toys! You and that pederast. It's disgusting the way you carry on. Openly sharing quarters, performing vile, obscene acts on each other. It's filth, sordid disgusting repugnant unadulterated filth! What else would you expect from a woman of your colour and breeding."

"I think it's your imagination that's filthy." Taryn replied. "Lieutenant Barclay and I share a purely platonic relationship and even if it were more it would be no business of yours." She looked through the bag. "You opened every container!" she shouted as she stepped towards him clutching a stasis bottle with a broken seal. "You've contaminated every bottle of the baby's milk!" she approached, menacing and angry and began to glow.

"Step away you harlot, and silence that child." Ootani said, fear in his eyes.

"Hold the baby please?" She took him from his sling and handed him to Kit. It was the first time she'd been parted from him since they evacuated.

"Heath!" Kit called, cradling the baby. "It's kicking off in here!"

Heath arrived and stared wide eyed at the glowing Orion girl. "Holy shit!" he breathed and stood well back, his expression one of almost comical horror. Similar expressions were on the faces of the other passengers. He pulled out his tricorder and scanned the glowing hybrid, relaxing slightly as he saw it was a form of bioluminescence that didn't appear to be dangerous to her or anyone else, although he couldn't say the same for her temper.

"He's hungry. What am I supposed to feed him with?" Taryn glared at the taller Zakdorn. "Let him suck on a food cube?" She continued to approach him slowly. "Even if we had the replicator his feeds were medicated and probably not on file here. He's going to go into withdrawal. He's going to be in agony."

"I knew it!" Ootani hissed, "You're nothing but a drug addled crack whore. A filthy, vile, diseased little slut living in sin with that evil, bestial pervert." he sneered down his nose at her. "Why don't you nurse him yourself? As any decent mother would."

"Perhaps because he's my brother!" she yelled. She froze suddenly and walked back to her bags, yanking out her padd and stylus. "Write this down?" she demanded as she slapped it against the Zakdorn's chest. "Pederast, vile, repugnant, pervert and bestial."

"You have no authority over me." Ootani threw the padd across the room.

"No." Heath protested and picked it up. "I want to see your handwriting too." he shoved it at Ootani. "There's the small matter of poison pen letters that drove an innocent man to a suicide attempt. No one uses the word pederast anymore. No one but you and it was all over those notes!"

"I am not responsible for the weak will of others." He turned to Kit angrily as she tried in vain to comfort Nefren. "Silence that infant or I will throw it out of the airlock!"

It happened so fast Heath wasn't really certain how she did it. Taryn seemed to jump, jack-knife and slam her forehead into the bridge of Ootani's nose, sweep his legs out from under him and kick him in the testicles all in one fluid movement, drawing rapturous applause from all those in the compartment. "Get him out of my sight." Taryn hissed and took the baby from Kit. Ootani started to protest from the floor so she stomped hard on his genitals.

"I have an idea." Kit said and drew her aside, stepping over the Zakdorn.

"You really need to learn to keep your mouth shut." Heath warned Ootani. "Orion females have extremely strong maternal instincts. Threatening a baby in front of them is like poking a targ with a stick." He looked over to an expectant father in the group. "Give me a hand please? I know just the place to put him."

"My pleasure." the Caitian replied.

...

"Are you certain this will work?" Taryn asked as Kit gave her a hypospray. They were sitting cross-legged on the floor in the sonic shower, one of the few private places on the cramped runabout.

"Are you kidding?" Kit asked incredulously. "With this cocktail Heath could nurse the kid. Although he might find the chest hair gets up his little nose." she added.

"I see." Taryn smirked and arched her brow. "Been examining Dr Houghton's chest in close-up have you Nurse Merrell?"

Kit smirked. "It's nothing serious, we fool around occasionally. Neither of us are ready to settle down." She gave Taryn a second dose after taking a reading with a tricorder. "He's a nice guy and those seem to be in short supply these days. You're really lucky we got loads of obstetric meds ready in advance with so many pregnant people on board." she added as an aside. "Let's give it a try, the action of nursing will help things along."

Taryn removed her little finger from Nefren's mouth and pulled down her top. Kit helped her manoeuvre the baby to her breast. "Ow, shit that hurts!" she exclaimed. "Is it supposed to hurt?"

"Give it a moment, it should pass." Kit told her. "Still painful?" she asked after while. Taryn nodded, tears in her eyes. "Okay, maybe he's not latching on right." They tried again a few times, altering the angle of approach. "He needs to get a really deep mouthful, not just chomp on your nipple with his gums. Is that better?"

"I think so." Taryn smiled. "It feels uncomfortable rather than agony now."

"It can take a while to establish sometimes, you're both new at this." Kit smiled. "So you and Reg. Really platonic or are you just being coy? You do seem to be spending a lot of time together."

"If I was with him I'd be proud of the fact." Taryn advised her. "He's another one of that rare breed like Heath." She sighed. "I think he'd like there to be something. But part of that is about his attachment to Nefren and the rest is my pheromones. I'm still not fully in control of them and I can't be sure what he feels is real."

"But you like him too?" Kit asked.

"Yes, but it's not that simple." Taryn replied. "Oooh." she pulled a face.

"Cramps?" the nurse asked and Taryn nodded. "The meds have fooled your body into thinking you just gave birth, your uterus is contracting. It's all normal." Kit explained. "Age difference?"

"No, it's not that. It's just…" She looked away. "Even if his feelings are genuine… There are things he doesn't know about me. Things not even my family know and I can't move past. I can't be the woman he wants, I can't give him the kind of relationship he wants. He needs to realise that and move on."

"That seems a little cold and jaded for someone as young as you." Kit told her softly. "What? Is it painful again?" she asked as Taryn's expression turned to a worried frown.

"No it's… I hope Reg is okay. He's just the kind of idiot to do something heroic and get himself killed." Taryn stated.

…

" _Reg, it's been ten days._ " Janeway intoned.

He rested his elbow on the terminal, elevating his splinted wrist and flexed his hand painfully. None of the runabouts had bone fusion units on board, they were an intrinsic part of Sickbay so any fractures had to be immobilised until they reached a medical facility.

"I don't care if it's been twenty days, or a year. We can't give up on them yet Captain." Reg protested. "We just can't."

" _And we can't wait for you any longer. We have a rendezvous with the Canberra to take us to Earth. One we can't afford to miss."_

"Captain," Dr Jones said over his shoulder. "My wife and I are about to retire and Reg is only an acting member of the crew. In real terms you're down one Runabout and Lieutenant Danning."

" _I had hoped Mr Barclay would accept a place on our new vessel_."

"With respect Captain. Since the incident with the Borg Voyager's launch has been set back, perhaps by years, that's why we were getting a refit rather than the planned decommission." Jones reminded her. "We'll all end up on temporary assignments. There's time for us to catch up with you. How can we look Whitman and Batok in the face if we don't conduct an exhaustive search? We're looking for their families. Danning's family."

" _We can't wait, but I'll advise Starfleet you're continuing the search._ " Reg sighed with relief. " _But it means you're on your own until another ship can be made available to assist._ "

 _…_

"Is that all?" Ootani asked as Mike dropped the force-field and passed him a bowl and a bottle of water. "What is this?" he sniffed at the bowl.

"It's a protein and glucose paste. The food cubes are gone and we can only get the rebuilt replicator to produce basic chemical patterns. It'll keep you alive so quit bitching. We have plenty of fresh water now, so no more recycled piss." he said, scratching his rough beard as he exchanged the Zakdorn's bucket. Tipping the man's excretions down the head was a small price to pay to keep him out of the way in a corner of the command pod behind a quarantine field. They could even shut off the sound of him moaning with the privacy screen.

"It's ridiculous. What kind of pilot can't navigate by star?" Ootani sneered.

"One in unfamiliar space with no computer for a celestial fix, thanks to you. Do I look like Marco Friggin Polo to you? Magellan?" Mike asked acidly and reactivated the field. "Fucking asshole." he said as he picked up the bucket. A proximity alarm went off on the console and he was so surprised he spilled effluent on the deck. Slipping and sliding he dashed to his seat to see another ship. A runabout. "It's the Byron!" he yelled as he identified it. "Heath! Kit!"

They ran forwards. "Who spilled shit on the floor?" Heath demanded then his gaze followed Mike's pointing hand. "It's a runabout!" He grabbed Kit, swung her around and kissed her. "It's going to be okay." he grinned.

They all waited nervously as they felt the Byron lock onto them with docking clamps, the upper hatch open and a ladder dropped into place. A man in uniform descended. He had his back to Taryn but to her surprise she realised she'd have recognised that backside and shoulders anywhere. She flew into Reg's arms, sobbing with relief and he held her tight before capturing her lips in a deep, feverish kiss. Behind him Danning descended rapidly and shot to his family, his wife cradling a newborn in her arms.

"Another girl." he grinned and clutched his older daughter to his chest. "You got a little sister Jessie, isn't that great?" he kissed them each in turn as the Joneses descended and began checking everyone out.

"Where's Nefren? Is he okay?" Reg asked and she lead him over to her seat. It was reclined and the baby was lying there, swaddled in a blanket. Reg picked him up, and a smile formed on his tiny green face as he looked up at him. "Did you see that?" Reg grinned.

"I saw but he's too young to smile, it must be wind." Taryn argued with a smile.

"It's not wind, you're glad to see me aren't you Little Man?"

"It did look like a smile." Taryn conceded and smiled as Reg kissed Nefren's forehead and held him close.

"He's gotten bigger, what have you been feeding him?" he joked then noticed Taryn's chest in profile. "He's not the only thing that's got bigger." he swallowed hard.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked. Tenderly touching the back of his hand where his skin showed through the splint.

"Nothing, it's nothing." he lied and cupped the back of her head in his hand and kissed her cheek with the baby held to his shoulder. "You look exhausted." He noticed the dark circles under her eyes and she looked pale. "Are you okay?"

"I am, but I'm okay." she wept and hugged him.

"Well, Dr Houghton, anything to report?" Dr Jones asked.

"There's eight more of us than there were when we evacuated, but everyone's fine sir." Heath grinned proudly and the older man hugged him like a son.

"Well done Heath, good work." he told him as he slapped his back. "Excellent!"

…

Reg sat against the bulkhead. Taryn was reclining on her side between his raised knees, her head on his shoulder, sound asleep, Nefren in his sling against her chest with his back to Reg. He played with the baby's tiny green hand as he cradled them both in his arms protectively.

"Starfleet are sending the nearest ship." Heath advised Reg as he crouched beside them. "She's finally asleep huh?" Reg nodded with a smile. "If it weren't for her we'd all be dead you know? She got the power back up, life support. She bastardised a replicator together for water and some nutrient paste. She wouldn't stop, all she did was try to fix stuff or care for that baby. Although saying that we'd never've been in the mess if it weren't for Ootani." He snorted softly and smiled. "You make a good looking family."

"We're not a family." Reg replied and rested his cheek on Taryn's head.

"You could be?" Heath suggested.

"She doesn't see me that way and besides. She's underage." He had ultimately drawn that conclusion. Why else would she be so secretive about it? I shouldn't have kissed her, or be holding her like this."

"Don't be an idiot. Of course she's over sixteen." Heath stated. "Do you seriously think we'd let you share quarters with an underage girl?" Heath stood and walked away with a smirk.

"You're really here. You came to get us?" Taryn smiled up at him. "I thought I hallucinated it from sleep deprivation."

"No, it's me large as life and twice as…"

"Lovely." she jumped in before he finished the saying. He smiled shyly at the compliment.

"You know, we were apart for over a fortnight. More than long enough for your pheromones to lose their grip on me and it didn't change a thing. You were all I could think about. Both of you, but mostly you."

"I missed you too,,." he interrupted her with his lips, a yearning, questioning kiss. "Wait, there's… I feel the same way about you but it will never work… I'm not what you want…"

"You most certainly are what I want. Exactly what I want." he kissed her again. "You're everything I ever wanted."

"No you don't understand…" She touched his lips gently with her fingertips. "When I told you I was celibate it's more that I can't have a physical relationship." she whispered. "I know that's what you want and it wouldn't be fair." She stroked his cheek tenderly, gazing deeply into his big brown eyes. "It wouldn't be fair to anyone, especially you. You deserve someone willing to give you every part of themselves and… I can't."

"But you said there was nothing physically wrong… I don't understand." he whispered. "We should still be together." he insisted. "Any terms you want but I need to be in your life. I love you and I'd sooner have a fraction of a relationship with you than a whole relationship with anyone else."

"Really?" she asked, her lower lip trembling. "Do you mean that?"

He nodded and kissed her forehead tenderly. "I mean it with all my heart. We need to be a family. You, me and Nefren makes three." He smiled briefly. "I know I'm not exactly anyone's idea of a perfect father..."

"You're wonderful with him. You're patient and loving. He couldn't ask for a better parent." She let out a ragged sigh. "I'll explain everything. Just… not here." she whispered, looking around suspiciously.

He nodded. "But you'll consider it? You and me?"

"I don't need to consider it." she smiled shyly. "But, you won't want me when you know the truth."

"I'll always want you." he whispered and kissed her softly. "Even if you were a… a serial killer or worse a politician, if you sold real estate…" he smiled as she giggled. "I mean it, I love you and nothing could change that…Oh God you're already married…" he blurted as the thought crossed his mind.

"No, I'm not married." she assured him.

"Spoken for?" he asked, his face dropped as she nodded.

"Well, it seems I am now." she grinned as she toyed with his collar.

He sighed with relief. "Don't do that to me. You'll give me a heart attack." he chided weakly as she kissed his cheek tenderly. "You can keep doing that though." he whispered as she pressed kisses to his face. "God, I love you." he told her earnestly.

"I love you too." she replied softly.


	12. Just like old times

**Just like old times.**

"Mr Barclay!" Data stated with surprise as they were beamed aboard the Enterprise, his hand clasped in Taryn's looking nervous and sweaty. He'd quietly confided in her his secret fears of transporting and she'd been very supportive. She talked him through a breathing exercise as they waited and insisted she was the one who needed to hold his hand when their turn came up. She urged him to seek therapy however, this wasn't something you could hide forever or avoid easily in the 24th century, particularly if you served on a Starship. "I was not aware you were among those on the USS Horizon." Data looked to Taryn as they stepped down from the pad. "Miss Prior, good to see you again."

"You too Commander Data." She smiled and shook his hand.

"Wait, you've met?" Reg asked incredulously, staring at Taryn.

"Miss Prior and I met briefly just before I joined the Enterprise. I piloted her father to Mars from their family home on Earth."

"It was his idea to investigate using Vulcan techniques to control my hormones. If it weren't for Commander Data's suggestion I'd be exiled to Barin Prime permanently. Thanks to him my twin and I have had the opportunity to develop a closer relationship with our great-grandmother, T'Pandra as well."

"I am pleased my suggestion was helpful Miss Prior. I heard that your father has recently been promoted. Please send my regards?" Data told her.

"Thank you Commander, I will. May I speak with you for a moment? Privately?" she asked and they stepped aside. Reg glaring jealously at Data's back.

"Ouch, that looks nasty Reg." Beverly smiled as she scanned his arm. "Let's get you to Sickbay."

"Er, no. I'll…" he pointed towards Taryn and Data.

"Security, take this man into custody for impersonating an officer." Riker barked as he arrived on the scene. "What the hell are you doing in uniform?" he asked angrily.

"He was given a Field Commission by Captain Janeway." someone shouted from the crowd that was gathered in the transporter room.

"Like hell. Take him." Riker looked away. Reg decided it was for no other reason than dramatic effect.

"He's going to Sickbay!" Beverly challenged. "Once his wrist his fused you can throw him in the Brig but until then he's my patient." she said and lead Reg away by the arm.

"Commander Riker? I'd like to introduce Princess Taryn, Rhadaman Anthus of the Caj Barin and her infant brother, Prince Nefren." Data stated.

"Charmed to meet you my Princess." Riker stated as he grasped her fingers. "I was unaware there were any dignitaries aboard the Horizon."

"There was an unexpected change in our travel plans and Captain Janeway was kind enough to accommodate us." She smiled politely.

"Allow me to escort you to guest quarters." Riker flashed his most charming smile.

"I'd hate to put you to any trouble Commander." she replied innocently.

"Not at all. It would be my pleasure." He offered his arm and she placed her hand on it gently as he led her from the transporter room.

…

"She'd doing what?" Reg bellowed in the Brig, pacing in his underwear. Riker had ordered his uniform confiscated and denied him a change of clothes. Data was on the other side of the force field having excused the custody officer in order that they may speak privately. "But we have an understanding." He looked hurt as he fidgeted with his fingers. "At least we _had_ an understanding before she saw him."

"She is not attempting to entice or entrap him. She is merely acting as bait." Data explained and stepped closer. "She asked me to make that absolutely clear to you. She has requested we treat her as an Orion diplomat and wishes to see how he behaves towards her."

"We all know how he'll behave towards her, there's no mystery there." Reg stated acidly. "He'll be all over her like white on rice."

"Exactly, there are rumours throughout diplomatic circles that a visit to the Enterprise equates to sexual harassment if you are female and attractive. There have been other complaints too. Commander Shelby filed a grievance that Commander Riker behaved unprofessionally towards her during her time here. She argues that he would not have been so antagonistic with a male officer."

"No shit." Reg said archly and silently thought he had been spending too much time around Taryn, as if that were possible. "He's a joke, like that perpetual student who hangs around the Campus trying to pick up women. He cleans up with the Freshers and visitors but only because they haven't heard his tired old lines a million times. He's a misogynistic relic that has no place in the 24th century, let alone Starfleet." Reg continued to pace. "His type always say how much they love women but it's only as long as they laugh at their jokes. God forbid they disagree or are in anyway challenging professionally. There's a difference between love and respect."

"It appears you are not alone in that assessment. Admiral Prior is launching an investigation, and having a daughter with diplomatic credentials on board who can distance herself… She couldn't resist the opportunity when it arose and the Admiral has sanctioned it."

"His own daughter?" Reg asked incredulously.

"He is convinced she can take care of herself. Nonetheless she is being fitted with a subcutaneous transponder, ocular camera contact lenses and I will be monitoring her on the orders of both the Admiral and Captain Picard."

"She's tiny, no way could she fight him off…" Reg argued.

"My apologies Mr Barclay, I had to go through the motions of confirming your Commission with Captain Janeway." he stepped towards the panel to summon the officer on duty there upon seeing Reg was in his underwear and socks. "Release this man and return his uniform." he ordered.

"Commander Riker ordered it destroyed." the young Bolian female argued. "Along with his combadge."

"Then replicate another uniform, along with insignia for a full lieutenant and issue a replacement communicator Ensign Mara." Picard instructed impatiently.

"Aye sir." she said and left the room again having dropped the security field.

"Where is she sir? The Princess?" Reg asked as he stepped into the room.

"I believe she's in her quarters Lieutenant." Picard raised his hand. "She's made me aware of your possible objections but, please be discreet?" Picard smirked, "I'm not just suggesting that as a superior officer but as a man. Even at her tender age she seems formidable. I certainly wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her. Do you agree Mr Data?"

"When I met her on Earth she seemed remarkably confident and self-assured." Data commented.

"Her father was my defence counsel during the Stargazer Enquiry." Picard stated. "I can assure you he wouldn't have agreed to her participation if he perceived she was in any danger Mr Barclay."

…

"Get inside!" Taryn hissed as she pulled Reg into her quarters by the arm and checked the corridor. "What if he finds out where you are?"

"Relax, I'm staying in Data's quarters because there's nowhere else left. I put my combadge is on his cat's collar so it moves around and Data knows where to reach me Ms Superspy."

"Are you okay? I was worried they might mistreat you." She frowned as he pushed her away when she tried to hug him. "You're angry with me."

"I'm not angry." he told her with forced calm. "I'm furious! What on Earth are you thinking?"

"Reg?" she reached out and touched his arm.

"Save it for your new boyfriend Riker!" he bellowed and pulled away, waking the baby.

"If you don't get why I'm doing this… there's no hope for us is there?" she said with her chin wobbling and turned towards the bedroom.

"Wait?" he turned her to face him and took her hands in his. "I get it. I do. I just don't like it." he kissed her fingers softly. "I'll see to him." He took a while to settle and Reg felt guilty for being the cause. No baby likes to be woken by shouting and Nefren was a nervous baby at the best of times. Taryn was reading in the lounge when Reg finally emerged from the bedroom. "I'm sorry." he began. "It's just I'm jealous and the thought of you and him…"

"Doing what exactly? I'm not spending time with him. I'm not even releasing my pheromones in his presence. I'm just activating my transponder if he approaches me." She pouted angrily. "Anyone would think I'm offering him a lap dance and having an affair with him the way you're behaving."

"I'm worried you'll end up in a situation you can't control. He's bigger than you, stronger…."

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Taryn whispered in his ear. He had no idea how it happened but he was face down on the carpet with his arm twisted behind his back and her knee between his shoulder blades.

"Nothing." he whimpered. "That hurts by the way… My wrist?"

"Oh Christ, I'm sorry. I forgot." she dropped to her knees beside him and rubbed his newly fused arm tenderly. "I hope you see my point though. I didn't mean to hurt you and I certainly won't have any compunction about hurting him. I'm a lot stronger than I look with my Vulcan and Orion DNA." He looked at her caressing his arm and began toying with her hands too. "You can trust me. I'm not sleeping with you, I certainly won't be sleeping with anyone else."

"About that." he asked with a brief smile. "I believe I was promised a full and frank disclosure as soon as we got some alone time." He looked around the room. "I can't see anyone else." He stroked the inside of her forearm and leaned in to kiss her.

"Apart from Data." she whispered. "Sorry, I activated it by accident." A strange expression passed over her face then she smiled as Data acknowledged her message, inaudible to Reg. She pressed an area in the crook of her elbow. "It's here. Don't touch it." she chided playfully. "I'm sure he'll be discreet but…"

"Can I touch you here?" he asked and kissed her neck softly. "Is that alright?"

"We need to talk, but it's not easy for me..." she frowned. "Stop." she whimpered as he kissed her neck again. "I SAID STOP!" she shouted and pulled away, drawn into a foetal ball, shivering with fear.

"Oh God." Reg paled. "That's…" his eyes flicked around the room. "That's it isn't it? Someone didn't stop when you asked, did they?" She shook her head and began to cry. "It's okay, I mean it's not okay but… I'll never force you into anything. I hope you know that?" he rubbed his face. "Do your family know?" She shook her head.

"Edara, she knows." Taryn whispered. "I killed him." She hugged her knees and sobbed, weeping brokenly.

"Have you talked to anyone else about this? A counsellor or…"

"No. I can't. I acted within Orion law but… I'm a murderer by Federation standards."

"You'd probably have a case for self-defence..." Reg reasoned.

"I stabbed him sixty-three times." Taryn whispered. "Not even my Dad could sell that to a jury."

"When was this?"

"Just over two years ago. I was preparing for my rite of womanhood on Barin Prime. He tried to rape my mind as well as my body, it felt like a mind meld but I didn't let him in. I tried to fight him off physically but he was eight-feet tall. I was four-six and under ninety pounds but I knew enough, T'Pandra had taught me enough to protect my mind and I was able to stay conscious." she sniffed. "Then after he was done he said he'd do it again. That I was strong and he'd keep raping me until every part of me was his, until he broke me down and got into my mind." She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I just lost it. I grabbed a blade, a trinket really. Edara kept it on her desk to open mail and I stabbed him in the neck when he turned his back on me to leave. I couldn't stop, everything was a green blur and I just kept stabbing. I stayed there, just sitting at my grandmother's desk, covered in blood. Mine and his, mine in a growing puddle under her seat. Edara walked in, saw my clothes were torn and…" She frowned as though lost in the memory. "She kicked him, over and over again, like an impotent rage and then she just held me for what felt like forever, weeping and I couldn't move or react. She called her physician when she realised I was going into shock from the blood loss and it wasn't just the normal bleeding unbroken Green girls get. I was I mess, ripped inside. Prashad, she called it a recto-vaginal fistula." She wiped her nose on her sleeve. "My face was bruised and bleeding, I was concussed and covered in bite marks and scratches everywhere."

"You healed okay? Physically I mean?" Reg asked softly.

"Prashad does great work. She even offered to recreate my hymen so I could have it removed as part of the rite. It seemed redundant. It's optional anyway, some girls wish to give their first lover their blood and pain as an offering and some may have lost their virginity already to some 'fumbling boy' as Edara puts it. There's no stigma either way and I was already in two minds about it as I was raised as a Human." She swallowed hard. "I told them he'd tried to…with my mind and…well it isn't possible for Orions. But Edara told me there were legends, stories her Grandmother told. Beings that usurped the bodies of others that had infiltrated Orion culture and she had his corpse entombed, as it advised in the ancient texts as a precaution. He told me he'd had my mother too, Tira. I can't end up like her, she's…she uses people…she coerces them into sex and… I don't ever want to be like her." she wailed.

"So you chose to be celibate." Reg realised and reached out his hand. She took it reluctantly at first but then firmly.

"It's not just that." She sniffed. "I…I have… well, it's a Human condition so Prashad doesn't really know how to treat it. Everything is clamped shut, you know, down below. I can't even pleasure myself that way, my muscles are too tight." She wiped her face on her sleeve. "I'm a joke of cosmic proportions. A frigid Green Woman. I just can't bear the thought of being a prick-tease, leading anyone on…"

"So you make sure even the idea of anything physical is off the agenda." Reg rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "Is there a treatment?"

She nodded. "The treatment has been the same for centuries. Counselling to address underlying psychological issues and physiotherapy to relax and stretch the muscles involved. Even if I was brave enough to see a therapist you need a partner for the later stages."

"Partner?" Reg frowned.

"The therapy involves building trust and intimacy with a view to leading to…" She trailed off, looking a little embarrassed. "Not exactly a selling point to a potential lover. Months of therapy before you can get any, if at all." She sighed, "So there it is. I'm a murderer with Vaginismus and possibly the only Green Woman in existence to suffer from sexual dysfunction."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Reg assured her and squeezed her hand as she laughed mirthlessly. "I mean it. After all you've been through you it's hardly surprising you have intimacy issues."

"I killed someone, maybe I deserve this…" she sobbed.

"No, you don't deserve this and you aren't facing this alone, not anymore." He told her adamantly. "I won't tell anyone, but I think you should talk to someone. As you said, you acted within Orion law on an Orion colony where your grandmother _is_ the law. No one should have the right to judge you under those circumstances. I certainly don't and never will." He fought back his own tears. "It kills me that anyone would do that to anyone, especially you." She broke into wracking sobs and let him fold her into his arms. Rocking her gently and whispering words of comfort.

"Maybe I could talk to Bryan." she whispered. "He was the shrink they referred me too when I beat up the school bully. The green mist descended then too. I still talk to him sometimes about my abandonment issues, you know Tira?"

"That sounds like a good idea. You can trust Deanna, I see her about my abandonment issues amongst other things." he whispered into her hair. "I'll do some research too. I have access to the Starfleet Medical Database, we'll investigate treatments together but I told you. Your terms, you set the agenda and the pace okay?" He kissed her temple as she nodded in agreement. "You were wrong you know? I still want to be part of your life. Unless you have another dark secret?"

"No, just the one bloody murder, that's all." She looked up at him and sniffed. "At least I'm not a politician?" she reminded him weakly.

"You are a thunderous warrior queen just like your name Taryn Boudicca, and I'm really glad you're on my side."

She smiled through her tears. "I want to build a life with you." she whispered as she pulled away to gaze into his eyes. "But you need to be aware that I'm so much more broken than I look. I'm not some angst-ridden teen with issues, I'm damaged goods and I often think I'm beyond repair. You need a lover, a partner not a co-dependent…or a project to work on…"

Reg shook his head. "It's not like that. I'm not… I'm not a white knight coming to your rescue. This isn't a fairy tale, I know that. But I also know that I love you, broken or not. If we never consummate our relationship I'll still be the happiest man in the universe just to be by your side raising Nefren and whoever else we collect along the way."

"I'm not sure I'll be happy with that." she whispered and Reg's face fell. "The fact my nether regions are closed for business doesn't alter the fact I'm hormonally a Green Animal Woman." she told him confidentially. "I find you rather attractive. Since we started kissing and stuff…It's not been easy to keep my hands to myself." she admitted with a slight smile.

"Well, there's an incentive for you to stick with me and try therapy." He blushed and kissed her lips softly. Realising this must have been what Duncan had meant about her finding celibacy difficult with an Orion libido. "I'm sure we'll find ways to ease your feral impulses. As my Dad would say, there's more ways than one to skin a rabbit."

"That's very true." Taryn agreed with a smile and returned his kiss.

"Look at it this way." Reg began as he pulled her closer. "If it was me with the… downstairs problem would you run a mile?"

"Yes," she replied with conviction, "but only if I was chasing after you." she added with a wolffish grin.

…

"I'm rubbish at this." Taryn pouted as she rested her driver on her shoulder, shielding her eyes to look out over the driving range as her ball plopped into the azure blue water. "It keeps going wonky." She was wearing a dark red sleeveless blouse and white shorts, dressed for golf.

"Everyone slices the ball at first, it's just a matter of practice." Reg said as he took a swing and the ball seemed to go for miles before disappearing into the lake. He was similarly dressed in slacks and a polo shirt. She lined up another ball, then with frustration adjusted her grip to one you would use on a hockey stick and took a slap shot towards the lake. It travelled straight but not as far as a golf ball should. "Let me help, although I'm not sure I can play left-handed." he whispered into her ear as he leaned over her and took her hands in his as they gripped her club. "Widen your stance just a little and distribute your weight evenly between your feet." he told her. "Push your hips back…"

"Like this?" she smirked as she rubbed her bottom against his groin.

"Keep your mind on the game, you vixen." he chided playfully. "Flex your knees…" She let go of the club and turned in his arms.

"I'd rather play another game." She smiled as she turned her face up to his and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"We could try Mini-Golf…" She interrupted him with a soft kiss. "Umm, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure I'd rather kiss you than anything else." She smiled as she gazed up at him.

"No, I mean…" he fidgeted with the golf club behind her back as she nuzzled his neck, standing on tiptoes. "I wanted to understand and help you, so I did some research. I read that victims of… that they can be overtly… that they overcompensate and can seem… horny when they're really not. I don't want to take advantage."

"I think it's more that your after-shave is driving my Orion libido wild." she whispered. "You smell incredible."

"I'm not wearing after-shave, it's must be my shaving soap." he swallowed hard, a break in his voice.

"It's wonderful." she whispered and sighed at his lack of response. "Seriously, my psychology is as non-standard as the rest of me. I'm not acting out." she sighed again. "I don't want to lead you on. I don't know if or when I'll be able to consummate our relationship but I'd like to aim towards that, if you're willing to be patient?"

He dropped the golf club and lifted her off the ground by the underarms with a growl. "You are irresistible, do you know that?" he smiled up at her as he held her over his head.

"So don't resist?" She giggled as she cradled his head in her hands. "I'm told it's futile."

"So they say." he replied and lost himself in her kisses, clutching her to his chest as she raised her feet and held him close, kissing him deeply and frantically. It was the most intense kiss Reg had ever experienced and he never wanted it to end. Dear Lord, she had a tongue stud, why on earth didn't he spend more time sucking face with teenage girls when he was a student himself? No, he wasted all his time in the library and the lab surrounded by nerds, not a hot green girl with a tongue stud in miles. Neither of them heard the door whirr open

"Mr Barclay?" Troi stated. "Why didn't you book an appointment with me if you were struggling?"

"Oops." Taryn giggled as he lowered her to the floor. "You must be Counsellor Troi." she offered her hand but Deanna ignored it.

"I know you are a passenger on the ship now, but I hope you realise you can still come to me?" She addressed Reg directly as though Taryn wasn't there.

"Of course." Reg frowned. "Counsellor this is…"

"I know who she is." she waved off Taryn. "Do you think creating a replica of her is an appropriate way to address your unrequited feelings for her?"

"Replica?" Taryn smirked. "Did you have a threesome in mind?" she joked with a wink in Reg's direction.

"Button it." Troi told her curtly and she seemed a little taken aback.

"I think I'd better…" Taryn indicated the door with her thumb and Reg nodded. She'd been reluctant to leave Nefren, even with Kit for just a couple of hours while he slept and Reg knew their time on the driving range would be short. "A pleasure to meet you Counsellor. Exit." she said and walked into the corridor.

"Did she just…?" Troi stared at the door. "She's not a…"

"Hologram? No, that was the real girl. We're keeping our relationship quiet so I'd appreciate your discretion."

"I couldn't sense her at all. I thought…"

"That much was obvious. She can be read with touch telepathy although can't initiate it but she has no remote telepathic ability whatsoever. By contrast her twin brother is a full telepath but the areas of his brain associated with hearing and speech are malformed." Reg explained. "They were damaged at some point before birth. Their biological mother… little Nefren has Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. She just doesn't seem to care about any of them. She abandoned them all."

"How do they communicate?" Deanna asked with interest.

"Sign language. Her parents encouraged them both to learn it as soon as it became apparent they weren't hearing each other."

"I really owe her an apology." Troi said guiltily.

"I think she was more shocked than offended." Reg smirked. "She's not one to bear a grudge. She'll see it as a misunderstanding I'm certain."

"So you and she…?"

"Yes, I'm surprised by it myself." he smiled and scratched his ear.

"And you resolved the issue of her age?"

"She's well and truly sixteen and her psychological age is rated much older. They tested her as part of her enrolment at Daystrom." Reg explained.

"Please pass on my sincere apologies and I'll call in to apologise in person later."

"She'll appreciate that. She'd like your input on what to expect as Nefren gets older." Reg stated. "We both would."

"I'd be happy to." Deanna smiled.

"Did you want anything?" Reg asked.

"I just wanted to touch base with you…"

"And you thought you'd check up on me as I was on the Holodeck?" Reg smirked as he picked up his driver and lined up a ball. "Just working on my drive. No fantasy companions, don't worry."

"You seem different." Deanna noted.

"Really? How?" he asked as he took a swing.

"You seem relaxed, confident, happy."

"I'm very happy. If I want to stay in Starfleet I have that option thanks to Captain Janeway and I have a beautiful woman in my life, we're a family."

"This relationship is quite a new one…" Deanna frowned as if choosing her words carefully.

"This isn't some lust fuelled infatuation. We both know what we're getting into. We're very serious about our relationship." Reg defended as he nudged a ball into position with his driver.

"I know you are, but is she?"

"Not everyone has the advantage of being empathic. The rest of us have to muddle through and trust people. You're the one who kept telling me to be more open and trusting and build friendships." Reg argued. "If you knew her, even a little you wouldn't distrust her motives."

"I'm just concerned that things are moving so fast and you may get hurt." Deanna told him.

"I appreciate that. But there's no need for you to worry. Honestly." Deanna touched his arm before turning to leave the Holodeck.


	13. Unwelcome truths

**Unwelcome truths**

"Come." Picard stated as he sat at his desk in the Ready Room, engrossed in his terminal. "Yes, Number One." he said as he looked up.

"I notice there was a communique from Jupiter Station and another from Zakdorn. Shall I go and give our guest confined to quarters the good news?"

"No need, Commander Data is speaking to him." Picard replied curtly.

Riker frowned, "With respect Sir, that falls into my remit as Exec."

Picard clenched his jaw imperceptibly, while Riker was correct to some degree he really didn't like his orders being questioned. "He's been investigating the cause of the power failure on the Coleridge in tandem with Mr Tuvok via subspace and has some questions for him so I decided to give Data an opportunity to develop his skills in diplomacy at the same time."

"That's hardly Data's strong point."

"No and it never will be if he isn't given a chance to practice." Picard sat back in his seat as Riker raised his leg over the seat back and took a seat opposite him. He resisted the urge to smirk. In his youth Picard had been arrogant and cocksure to the point of overconfidence as he found at the price of an artificial heart. Something he had grown beyond long before Riker's age and rank. A seasoned senior officer on the flagship should have no need of overt displays of machismo or feel the need to impress junior officers with his tales of derring-do. Had he realized what a poseur and braggart he could be and had his inability to handle criticism been highlighted in his service record he may very well have chosen a different First Officer.

"To be frank sir, I really don't see why Dr Ootani is confined to quarters."

"I quite agree, he should be in the Brig." Picard replied and turned back to the terminal.

"That's not what I meant. At worst, we can charge him with harassment for those notes he sent to Barclay." Riker defended.

"There's also the barrage of racial and misogynistic abuse levelled at an Orion diplomat of royal status, witnessed by those on the Coleridge. Some even reported he seemed to deliberately manipulate circumstances to end up on the same ship in order to continue his vendetta against her."

"The Princess may be charming, engaging and very good at winning people over but her accusations of attempted murder are a reach at best…"

"I disagree, as will the Orion Ambassador and the Tahedri I'm sure. He went on a paranoid rampage through her baggage and destroyed the only source of sustenance and medication for Prince Nefren, who was hardly in any position to defend himself."

"According to Ootani, the Princess did a good job of defending him." Riker argued with a smirk, clearly excited at the idea she played rough.

"And not a single person on that runabout substantiates his claim that she assaulted him." Picard countered. "Not only is she the Prince's guardian under Betazoid law, but under Orion law and they take the role of guardian literally. Ootani has admitted he threatened to jettison the baby out of an airlock. As the protector of a prince she would have been within her rights to slit him from ear to ear for the threat alone under their statutes. Our current treaty would make it exceedingly difficult to hold an Orion citizen to account for acting within their laws." he explained. "Thankfully she showed restraint and the matter is out of our hands."

"I still question the wisdom of assigning Data to the task of speaking to him."

"Data's previous Commanding Officers had similar reservations with the net result of holding back his development, both personal and professional. An injustice I plan to redress. To that end Data will be undertaking his Advanced Accreditation in Diplomacy and Negotiation."

"Very well sir. I'll find some time in my schedule for training sessions and tutorials with him." Riker stood.

"No need Number One. I'll be overseeing his training personally, assisted by Counsellor Troi." Picard replied.

"Sir?" Riker spluttered incredulously.

"You have your hands full with the Academy Candidates and Crew Evaluations. Besides, it's been a while since I involved myself in crew training, I like to keep my hand in." He watched as Riker left the Ready Room in stunned silence, well aware of the subliminal message of their exchange. Data was being groomed for the role of First Officer and Riker's assistance in his training was surplus to requirement.

…

"This is ridiculous." The Zakdorn was sat opposite Data in the interview room. "You've all had your minds turned by that little green whore."

"As an android, I am unaffected by pheromones." Data stated calmly. "I do however, find it intriguing that you use Anti-Kolari tropes while arguing you did not racially abuse Princess Taryn of the Barinkar."

"Princess." Ootani snorted. "They're all sluts, only interested in money and sex. It's disgusting, obscene."

"Can you give an example of her obscene behaviour?" Data asked innocently.

"She cohabited with that pervert, what's his name…" Ootani began with a frown.

"Are you referring to Mr Barclay?" Data asked with interest and Ootani nodded, "and that they shared quarters because it was necessary for him to be under suicide watch?"

"So they say."

"Are you aware he was driven to despair by a number of notes left outside his quarters, one-hundred and fifty-four to be exact, over a period of time Lieutenant Tuvok estimated at twenty hours. Notes left by you." Data fixed him with his birdlike eyes.

"I have a right to free speech." Ootani defended.

"Indeed, but many would argue sounding someone's door chime 7.7 times an hour is harassment, not free speech." Data replied. "Purely out of interest," Data leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, "which came first? Your animosity towards the Princess or Mr Barclay? Is one as a result of the other?" He stared at the Zakdorn, his expression one of rapt interest.

"They disgust me, both of them. She and all of her filthy kind disgust me. They lie, cheat, fornicate and seduce to get whatever they want." He sneered angrily as he spoke. "She has you all fooled. She sabotaged the Horizon, left it vulnerable so her family could come and pick over the spoils. Probably enslave us all. It's what her kind does. It's second nature, first even. Easy as breathing in and out."

"Fascinating." Data whispered, watching Ootani's demeanour carefully.

"What is?" Ootani asked tersely.

"Your bigotry and hatred." Data replied simply. "You have no idea how out of place your attitude is in Federation how wrong you are." Data turned his attention to the object on the table beside him. "Where did you obtain this Dr Ootani?" Data asked as he held out the cremated device from the Coleridge.

"It was a gift, in return for a job well done." Ootani snapped, clearly losing what little patience he had.

"A freelance job?" Data asked.

"Yes, I wrote an algorithm and delivered it to Starbase 64 personally."

"What kind of algorithm?"

"It involved odds, statistical occurrences. I don't expect you'd understand." Ootani replied with disdain.

"If it is this one that you were carrying in your bag it is a system to predict the behaviour of Ferengi Dabo tables." Data stated as he looked at a device similar to a padd. Ootani seemed surprised Data had realised this from the raw algorithm as the Android turned his gaze to him. "Someone unethical could make a lot of money with this algorithm. What was the name of your client?"

"Tetzma Krell." Ootani whispered, curious as to where Data was taking this.

"Are you aware he is a known Syndicate operative?" Data asked.

"No."

"What was your fee?"

"One-hundred and fifty bars of latinum in cash…." he turned as the door opened and an Ensign dragged in a trunk and stood at ease beside it. "Where did you get that? I left it on the Horizon."

"We found it floating in space among the wreckage. Along with a syndicate vessel attempting to salvage it along with anything else of value. It seems the container has a built-in locator beacon. We have of course disabled it and apprehended the vessel, along with its crew." Data stood and opened the trunk to reveal latinum bars.

"Those bars are my property." Ootani asserted. "I trust they'll be returned to me?"

"Of course." Data replied, retaking his seat. "I image the Ferengi Consortium would be very interested in your algorithm." Data stated.

"I imagine so."

"And the Syndicate would have a vested interest in preventing you from talking to them." Data slid the toaster between himself and Ootani. "Are you aware of the regulations regarding using non-Federation equipment aboard a Starship?"

"Of course, I sign the documents every time I board a ship."

"You signed the document to say you had no non-Federation devices in your luggage upon boarding the Horizon." Data nudged the toaster closer to Ootani with his finger.

"That was a mistake." Ootani blurted. "Has that little green bitch been interrogated like this? I saw a device in her bag."

"An Orion data storage device with a decoder add-on that she declared and submitted for testing on both the Horizon and this ship on arrival." Data stated coldly. "Did you submit this device for testing?"

"It's just a toaster. I saw no need." Ootani protested.

"From our examination of the remains it contains components not normally present in a device of this kind. Components for data-storage and transfer."

"Nonsense, I inspected it thoroughly."

"From your record you are not qualified to make that assertion." Data argued.

"I hold two advanced degrees and a doctorate in pure mathematics, how dare you call me unqualified." he spat indignantly.

"You do not hold the relevant accreditation to perform a security and engineering test on an alien device." Data stated. "You are the definition of unqualified."

"It's nothing but a toaster, it heats sandwiches and does it very well thank you. At least it did." he added tersely.

"So you admit you connected this device to the Horizon's power supply?" Data asked.

"Of course, it wouldn't work otherwise." Ootani tutted.

"Before or after the accident in Engineering?" Data asked, his gaze innocent.

"Around the same time I belie…." Ootani's confidence shattered as he considered the situation and the new information he had been told.

"I am sure the families of the one-hundred and ninety-seven people lost in the Horizon's drive section will be relieved to know your sandwich was toasted to perfection." Data stated, breaking the silence. "We theorise that had the device not malfunctioned and caused an overload the Coleridge would be lost too." Data paused. "Ironic is it not, that you were unknowingly guilty of the very thing you accused the Princess of. And while she worked tirelessly to save the lives of those aboard the runabout, yourself included, you incited racial hatred against her and attempted to garner support from the other passengers. Had you been a more charismatic man they may have believed you and turned on sixteen-year-old girl with an infant in her care with no way to prove her innocence." He handed Ootani a padd. "Here is official notification from Dr Zimmerman that he has rescinded his job offer. We are scheduled to rendezvous with the Avocet in six hours, ten minutes 7 seconds to return you to Zakdorn pending the hearing into the loss of the Horizon. Until then you remain confined to quarters." The Zakdorn nodded silently and stood as the Ensign moved beside him. "Dr Ootani?" Data said looking up. "I shall arrange for your gold-pressed latinum to be transferred to the Avocet."

Ootani stared at the trunk, loathing and disgust evident on his face. "No. Ask the Princess. I'm sure she knows of some suitable charity that could make good use of it. Tell her I'm sorry, Barclay too." he added sullenly.

"As you wish." Data replied softly.

 _Author's note:_

 _Apologies for the delay in updating Tempus Fugit. Unfortunately my body/brain has decided to hibernate this winter. My other half, the Silverback jokes that he should put me in a container of straw with some protein bars to nibble on if I wake up and leave me be. Such is life with Fibromyalgia I'm sorry to say._  
 _I hope to find some energy somewhere soon and polish Tempus Fugit off, along with this Hollow Universe story so I can get on with the sequel to Tempus Fugit. I also need to come up with a cover pic for Hollow Victories too._

 _Thank you to all who are following my ficcage._

 _ync_


	14. Girl talk

**Girl talk**

"He has a strong presence, even for a Betazoid child, but I sense no overt telepathy from him." Deanna stated as she held Nefren in her arms.

"That's a relief." Taryn replied. "I was reasonably sure he wasn't telepathic. From what I'm told my twin started broadcasting the private thoughts of others in utero. I'm sure someone would have mentioned it."

"That can't have been easy to cope with." Deanna replied. "It's rare for small Betazoid children to be telepathic and few who do grow to adulthood psychologically intact."

"I think the hardest part is that everyone treated him like a Midwich Cuckoo."

"Midwich Cuckoo?"

"It's a book by John Wyndham from 1957, everyone in a village loses consciousness and nine months later every female of childbearing age give birth. The children are all blond, of similar appearance and capable of telepathy and mind control. It's a good read if paranoid twentieth century sci-fi is your thing."

"Is your twin a prodigy too?"

"Yes, he studies at the Aldebaran Music Academy."

"I was under the impression he was deaf." Deanna frowned.

"He is. As a post." Taryn grinned. "He plays stringed instruments and feels the vibrations as well as hearing through the ears of others."

"I am so sorry, my Princess." Deanna said guiltily, still feeling the sting of assuming she was a hologram.

"Don't be silly, and call me Taryn." she replied with a smile. "I've never been comfortable with that title. I refuse to be called it on Barin Prime."

"I contacted my mother earlier, it seems she knows the Tahedri."

"I'm not surprised. She's very active in diplomatic circles." Taryn stated.

"She thinks it's appalling the Betazoid government didn't give her custody, but she's glad your father was able to broker a compromise. She tells me your adoption is a done deal as soon as you turn eighteen."

"She knows more than I do." Taryn smiled. "That's wonderful."

"I think my mother may have twisted a few arms to find out." Deanna admitted with a smirk. "She tells me the Tahedri has a lot of faith in you."

"I hope it isn't misplaced." Taryn smiled shyly and sipped her herbal tea. "I don't share her conviction that I should be her successor but she's seen me around my younger cousins I suppose. Fortunately, the Orion maternal instinct seems to have only skipped one generation."

"So Reg was telling me." Deanna replied and looked down at the baby.

"Are you alright? Is the baby making you feel uncomfortable?" Taryn asked.

"No, he's beautiful. It's… I had a son, Ian."

"I'm sorry." Taryn said earnestly.

"He was a visiting alien entity. A Midwich Cuckoo I suppose. I conceived and gave birth to him in a matter of days. Data held my hand through the delivery, I actually think he was more worried than I was." She smiled at the memory. "He grew rapidly into a child. He wanted to experience our way of life, our existence and when his task was over… He was gone." a tear rolled down her cheek. "I miss him."

"Of course you do." Taryn handed her one of the baby's muslin cloths to use as a handkerchief. "He was your child, no matter how briefly he was in your life or how he was conceived."

"Are you sure you aren't telepathic?" Deanna asked and smiled through her tears.

"It's a trait I get from my father. I read people. Body language and intonation. It's what makes him a good lawyer."

"It would make you a good psychologist." Deanna told her and she smiled shyly in response.

"I do have an interest in developmental psych. It's hard to work with experiential learning machines without taking an interest in how they learn. Maybe I'll head in that direction at some point. At the moment my plans are in turmoil, but any decisions I make will be in tandem with Reg with Nefren's wellbeing at heart, and anyone else who happens along." she smiled. "There are complications, but we hope to have more children at some point."

"I admit I doubted the strength of your feelings for him at first…" Deanna began.

"And now?" Taryn asked.

"The depth of your devotion to both Reg and this baby is beyond question. Even without an empathic sense from you." Deanna stated. "But I do have reservations about the age difference…"

"That's never been an issue for us, even when we were friends."

"But you knew he wanted more?" Deanna asked.

"Yes, I knew there was an attraction and it was mutual, but I had to understand his motives. He adored Nefren, that much was plain and I had to be sure my pheromones weren't playing a role." Taryn replied.

"And the time you were lost on the Coleridge facilitated that." Deanna realised.

"And now we have to sneak around because I had the brainchild of gathering evidence on Commander Riker. I know it isn't fair to Reg. I'm so proud of him, and proud to be with him it just seems wrong."

"Reg knows that." Deanna assured her. "And for the record, now I know about it I think you're doing the right thing."

"So… what's your story regarding Commander Riker?" Taryn asked with a wolfish grin.

"What's Reg been saying?" Deanna smirked.

"Only that you have history, and it can't be easy for you taking sides in this situation." Taryn replied.

Deanna paused. "Imagine you woke up tomorrow and Reg was gone. You went to his quarters and the door was sealed. So, because you were worried you went to engineering to be told he'd transferred and shipped out."

"I'd be devastated. It would be hard to believe him capable of that."

"That's exactly what I thought. We talked of love, commitment, a future together and a promotion came up on a Starship and he left Betazed without even saying goodbye. I knew his career was important to him and he was driven but…" Deanna let the thought slip away. "Then years later we were both assigned to the Enterprise and he's been like a different person. I've had to watch him conduct a string of meaningless affairs. Crew, diplomats, planetary leaders, he virtually ran amok among the Edo. Of course, when the man I was betrothed to as a child and had all but forgotten turned up Will behaves like a petulant child. Worse, he was a jealous prick about it. He was moody and incredibly rude to Wyatt, and after he left Will went back to playing the friend card as though nothing happened." She paused. "Do you know anything about the incident on Tanuga IV?"

"No." Taryn replied. "Wait, was that to do with the Krieger Wave converter that was destroyed and the scientist that died? It's not really my field but I heard about it somewhere."

Deanna nodded. "Will was accused of murdering Dr Apgar, and Captain Picard held an extradition hearing." she noticed the baby had fallen asleep and stood to place him in his Moses basket and she moved to look out of the window.

"You have the touch." Taryn said as the baby remained quiet. "He often shrieks like his been scalded the moment we put him down."

"That can't be easy." Deanna sympathised as she returned to his seat. "It must wear your patience."

"It's not his fault, no point getting angry with him about it. I don't need a lot of sleep and Reg and I work as a tag team when he needs holding around the clock. I worry about us sleeping while holding him. You were telling me about the hearing?" Taryn prompted and passed Deanna her mug of hot chocolate.

"All the witnesses produced holographic reconstructions of the events leading up to the explosion, only Will's account differed significantly to the one made by Apgar's wife. She portrayed him as flirting with her from the moment he arrived culminating in an attempted rape. I didn't sense any deception on his part…" she explained as she cradled the mug in her hands.

"But you didn't from her either." Taryn reasoned.

Deanna nodded. "His account showed her throwing herself at him."

"I don't know him, I only know what Reg has told me and I know for a fact he's biased. But, Riker made a number of comments when he escorted me from the transporter room that made me feel uncomfortable, including an overt pass. I'm aware of my body language, I don't flirt inadvertently. With my colouring I'd never get a moments peace let alone be taken seriously at university but, I wonder how he saw our discussion?"

"You think he sees what he wants to see?" Deanna suggested.

"I don't know. All I know is I'm as biased as Reg and that's why I agreed to be monitored. So there's no dispute over what's said and how he behaves."

The door opened and Reg entered, he had changed into his uniform, but wasn't wearing his combadge. "I can come back later if…"

"I should be going. I offered to help Miss Kyle with the children's craft session." Deanna smiled. "I hope we get the chance to talk again." she told Taryn.

"Me too." she replied warmly as she left their quarters. "Feel free to drop in for a hot chocolate any time."

"Did you two get along okay?" Reg asked as he sat beside her on the couch.

"Yes, she's very nice. I can see why you're fond of her." Taryn smiled.

"What did you talk about?" he asked as she lifted her legs onto his lap and toyed with his collar with her finger.

"Just girl talk." she replied as he caressed her calves, she was still wearing the shorts she wore on the Holodeck. "Have you been golfing all this time?"

"No, I went to the gym then had a shower. So enlighten me, what exactly do girls talk about?" he smiled and pulled her closer into his lap.

"Today we talked about a lot of things, mostly to do with my secret mission and the baby." she replied and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was thinking of taking a nap while Nefren is quiet. Would you like to join me?"

"A nap?" he asked with an arched brow.

"I thought we could snuggle up and sleep together… Not… You know what I mean." she looked away. "Actually sleep."

"I'm in no hurry for us to make love. I mean… I want you, of course I do but we can take things at your pace." he told her. "I told you, everything is on your terms."

"I appreciate that, but if I'm ever going to be ready we need to develop trust and intimacy. We started as friends and that's a strong foundation and I do trust you…"

"I get it, we can never have too much trust between us. It's something that can always get stronger and deeper." He smiled as she nodded in agreement. "As long as you're sure, and comfortable with us sharing a bed it's fine with me. Better than fine. I'm honoured that you trust me enough to let me."

"You don't have to be so deferential. Our relationship shouldn't be on my terms. We should be equal partners." she argued as she stroked his ear with her finger.

"We are partners, but with the physical stuff, at least for the time being you need to call the shots and I'm fine with that." He stood up with her in his arms and stood her on the coffee table.

"What are you doing?" she giggled as he gazed up at her. She was slightly taller than him with the extra height of the table.

"Putting you on a pedestal, where you belong." he pulled her close and kissed her tenderly, his hands roaming her back. "May I touch your bottom?" he whispered. She nodded and his hands roamed lower. "You're so beautiful." He nuzzled her neck, kissing her soft skin as she sighed, her hands clutching at his uniform, holding each other so close there wasn't a micron of space between them. "Can I undress you…? Just to your underwear...? You are… wearing underwear?"

"Yes." she giggled. "To all three." He slowly pulled off her sleeveless top, she was wearing a plain black, satin bra. He fumbled for the fastener of her shorts before realising it was on her hip. He slid them down over her high leg briefs that matched her bra and she stepped out of them, flicking off her shoes. "Shall we go to the bedroom?" she whispered and he lifted her, sweeping her into the bedroom.

"What about the baby?" he asked.

"We'll hear him if he cries." Taryn assured him as he lowered her to the ground beside the bed. His breath hitched as she unfastened his tunic and slid it from his shoulders. She crouched as she unfastened his pants and pulled them down, gazing up into his eyes. He sat on the bed as she pulled them off along with his boots and socks.

"No." he protested softly as she pulled up his t-shirt and grasped her hands.

"Okay, but I've seen you without a shirt. You've no reason to be shy." she smiled as he stood and pulled her into his arms, cradling her upturned face in his hand. "What do we do now?" she asked.

"I don't know." he whispered and they both giggled.

"Um…how do you feel about frottage?" she suggested.

"What's that?" he looked confused and a little scared. She encouraged him to sit on the bed and lean back as she straddled him. "You're sure you're okay with this?" he asked breathlessly as she writhed against him.

"I'll let you know if I'm not. Am I hurting you?" she whispered.

"No it, feels good." he swallowed hard, his hands on her waist. "Really good."

"It feels like you've no reason to be bashful down below either." she leaned forward and kissed him softly with a smile.

"Thank you for the compliment." he chuckled. "Would it be alright if I moved my hands?"

"Of course." she replied. "Did you want to go on top?"

"No, I might get too excited or frighten you." he protested.

"I hope you're getting excited." she asked with a frown.

"Oh I am, this is incredible. Is this like a lap dance?"

"It depends, some places are no contact, but sometimes this is part of a lap dance." She moved his hand from her ribcage and onto her breast before continuing to caress his chest through his t-shirt. "You can move your hand. This isn't 'The Graduate'." She smiled as he looked puzzled at the reference. "Knead a little, I'll say if I don't like it."

"Your body is fantastic. You're so beautiful." he pulled her close and sucked gently on her outstretched neck his hands roaming her body and squeezing her firm flesh.

"Oh." she whimpered.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gently cupping her cheek in his hand.

"I think…" she gasped, sweat gleaming on her skin. "Oh!" she clutched his shoulder as her grinding became more frenzied. She arched her back and a plaintive bleat emerged from her throat as she clutched at the front of his shirt, trembling and convulsing.

"Oh, Taryn." he grasped her buttocks as he watched transfixed. She was utterly transported as pleasure wracked her body. He whimpered and moaned, her name on his lips as his manhood reached the inevitable response to her body against his. She collapsed onto his chest, exhausted and sweaty with tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong?" he asked as he wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"I just…it's overwhelming." she sobbed into his shoulder as he cradled her in his arms. "Is it always like that?"

"Is what?" he asked as he tried to comfort her.

"Did I…was that a…."

"You never climaxed before?" she shook her head. "You must have, surely you've… indulged in solo exploratory missions?"

"Of course, but I never managed to get myself off. It's not like there's much privacy at home and with what happened, all the damage and my weird physiology I'd begun to think I couldn't."

"But you're okay, not having flashbacks or anything?" She shook her head and nestled closer to him. "That's good." He sighed and kissed her forehead, their limbs entwined as they lay together. His hand buried in her hair and her rubbing his tummy as they both caught their breath. "I might go clean up a little." he told her after a while. "Change my shorts."

"Did I get my juice on you? I didn't think I got that wet." He shook his head. "You too?"

"Sorry." he replied earnestly.

"Don't be sorry. I'm glad." she told him as she toyed with the chest hair that peeped over the neck of his t-shirt.

"I didn't mean sorry it happened, but I was mortifyingly quick." He forced a smile. "I tried to hold back but you looked so beautiful, writhing on top of me in the throes of ecstasy."

"I'd never have got there without you." She smiled sweetly as he got up from the bed. When he emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later she was snuggled under the covers, snoring softly. He went to the living room, Nefren was also sleeping in his basket so he picked it up and carried it carefully through to the stand in the bedroom. He slipped into the bed behind her and she nestled against him, pulling his arm tighter around her as they spooned. He kissed her shoulder softly. "I think we shared something wonderful." she whispered.

"So do I." he replied and held her close.

"I know it wasn't… I'm sorry it isn't simple and we can't just… do it." she said softly.

"Shh… I love you, and it's good that we're taking things slowly. Get some sleep." he kissed her hair tenderly and rested his head against hers.

"I love you too." she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

…

"Reg? Reg?" Taryn shook him and pushed his arm off her waist. "Get in the cupboard!" she whispered.

"Don't want to." he murmured as he nestled into her pillow. "Just five more minutes…"

"Someone's at the door." She dragged him off the bed and shoved him into the wardrobe then closed it. Then opened it and handed him his uniform. "Shh!" she warned and grabbed her robe.

"Hi." Riker gave her a cheesy grin as he leaned on the doorframe with one arm. Apparently, he felt the aroma of his armpit was irresistible to women. Taryn decided he was wrong. "Sorry, I guess you haven't adjusted to ship time." he added at realising she was in her dressing gown.

"With the baby I have to sleep when he does." Taryn smiled.

"Did I tell you it's a beautiful thing you're doing?" he asked. "Taking care of your baby brother."

"Yes, twice in fact." Taryn replied.

"It's beautiful." he grinned.

"Yes, you said."

"I'm doing a gig tonight at Ten Forward. I've got a combo, I play the 'bone. That's the trombone in case you didn't realise." He did a mime of his instrument.

"I know what it is." she advised him politely with a soft smile.

"I'd be honoured if you'd be my personal guest?" He touched a lock of her hair with his finger.

"I did tell Captain Picard I wouldn't be available for any functions…"

"It's nothing formal, just me and my guys playing jazz." he argued.

"Unfortunately I can't leave Nefren in the Nursery with his medical needs…."

"I'm sure I could scare up a baby sitter. You can listen to some music and we could get a nightcap after? I have a bottle of wine in my quarters? A 2342 Merlot?"

Not the best year for Merlot. According to her Uncle Taliesin, the wine buff 2341 was a better year, she mused. "I really don't like to leave him, he's not an easy-going baby and because we were stranded I started breast-feeding. I'm in training too so no alcohol on both fronts. But thank you for the invitation." The baby started to fuss. "I'd better go."

"I'll catch you later." Riker winked and sauntered away.

"Reginald Endicott Barclay, if you made that baby cry on purpose…" she said ominously as she headed to the crib. He pushed open the wardrobe door menacingly.

"No, he just has immaculate timing." Reg glowered and tossed his uniform onto the bed. "and there's a Third at the end of my name."

She raised her finger to quiet him. "Did you get that Data?"

" _Indeed, I also viewed the exchange via your_ _surveillance_ _lenses."_ Data responded. " _He appeared to be in close proximity to you. Are you alright Taryn?"_

"I'm fine. Thank you for the back-up."

" _You are welcome. Data out._ "

"What did he want?" Reg asked darkly.

"He asked me to watch him play his 'bone." she replied distractedly as she checked Nefren.

"What!?" Reg demanded as she lifted the baby to her shoulder.

"His trombone in Ten-Forward." she explained, rolling her eyes. "Is he any good?"

"No, well…he's okay I suppose but he hits the odd bum note." Reg replied. "He's not as good as he thinks he is. Did he touch you?"

"No. Well, he touched my hair and got a little closer than I'd like." she admitted. "It's sort of exciting, the thought of him catching us together." She grinned. "You hiding in your grundies."

"It is kind of hot. Sneaking around." He smirked. "But I still don't like you anywhere near that…leg lifter."

"What?" she frowned as he followed her to the changing table.

"Some of the bridge crew complain that he lifts his leg onto their consoles, male and female. He sort of looms over people with his crotch. It's creepy."

"I know what you mean, I got a close up of his armpit. It's probably a dominance thing. A display."

"I don't care what it is, I just don't like him doing it anywhere near you or Nefren. You're mine." He took the baby as she handed him over and he followed her towards the bathroom without thinking, lost in their conversation. "I…Oh boy." he turned away as he saw her slip off the robe and unfasten her bra.

"I thought we were trying to be more intimate with each other?" she asked as she stepped out of her panties.

"Yes, but I didn't expect you t…t…to st…strip off in front of me." He blushed furiously.

"Nudity has nothing to do with sex." she stated and he relaxed as he heard the sonic shower start running.

"Is that an Orion thing?" Reg called as the baby grizzled in his arms and he tried to comfort him.

"It's more of a three-bedroom house, family of ten thing." Taryn replied. She stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes in a loose fitting kaftan. "Come on little fella. You look hungry." She took him from Reg, settled into a seat, pulled her top aside and put the baby to her breast with no ceremony.

"Do you want me to leave?" Reg asked.

"No. I mean if you want to go…"

"No, I wondered if you wanted privacy." She'd always covered up with a shawl when she fed him on the runabouts before they were rescued, not that anyone would have complained, there were so many nursing mothers on board.

"Not from you. Would you like to hold his hand Daddy?"

"Daddy?" Reg smiled and stepped closer.

"He'll have to call you something if we're going to be a family." Taryn replied with a smile. Reg knelt at her feet and took the baby's hand.

"Wow." Reg breathed as he watched intently. "Does it hurt?"

"It did at first, but you're a pro now aren't you Nefren?" She smiled down at him. "You've got it sussed haven't you eh?"

"Do you feel more bonded with him now you're feeding him yourself?"

"Not really. I always tried to make feeding an intimate experience and I already loved him like he was my own. But the added comfort is helping him relax and feel secure and he's doing well with less medication. That's an important plus." She smiled as Reg stroked his raven curls gently. "You'd like one of your own." It was a statement not a question Reg noted.

"Yes, but it's not a deal breaker." Reg replied. "I'd like to father your children and if that doesn't work out it isn't the end of the Universe. I've no problem with adoption."

"I'd like that too, after I graduate maybe we can talk about it." She smiled at Reg and entwined her fingers with his.

…

"Can I…?" Reg asked from under the covers.

"Yes, that's nice." she whispered breathily. "Do you like that?"

"Oh yesss." he sighed. "Is it okay if I…?"

"Look… stop." Taryn said impatiently.

"Okay stopping." He pulled away with his hands raised and emerged from under the covers looking ruffled.

"No, I mean. You asking for permission all the time is getting on my nerves." she protested.

"I'm sorry, but I've never fooled around like this before. Not with a real girl." he added. "Holograms always like whatever you do and the last thing I want is to add to your trauma."

"Well, I've never fooled around with anyone but you. I've no idea whether I'll like something or not and for all I know it could change from one day to the next and remind me of…" She sighed and let the thought fade. "How about we just…trust nature and if either of us don't like something we say?"

"That sounds like a plan." He smiled and pulled the covers of them, her giggling softly. "Where's the clasp on this thing?"

"It's at the front." she giggled. "It's a nursing bra."

"Now that is clever. Oh boy!" he gasped. "They feel so… they felt great with your bra on but… oh boy your boys feel incredible. Pert yet... Oh boy!"

"When we finally get there, which won't be today, I'll do my best not to shout stop if you're in the vinegar strokes." she told him between kisses.

"That would be appreciated." he replied earnestly.

"Oooh." she whispered breathily as his hand groped lower.

"Oooh good or oooh bad?" he asked.

"How about 'oooh you're over thinking this'? Put your hand inside my knickers…don't try and get in me though okay? That hurts when I try it."

"Sure, like this..?"

"Oh God….yes just there…"

"Would you be offended if I drew a quick diagram on a padd? I don't want to forget where this thing is." Reg enquired.

She snorted with laughter. "There are plenty of diagrams on LCARS, and a few candid shots of them if you know where to look."

"So is this nubbin is a standard fitting or something Orion?" Reg asked innocently as he rummaged around in her panties.

"Reg? What kind of programs were you running on the holodeck exactly?" she pulled down the covers to talk to him earnestly.

"Well there was some swashbuckling, some of what you might call parody. I played out a lot of ship scenarios where I could be more confident."

"And the 'fooling around'?" she asked.

He blushed even deeper red than the flush on his cheeks from their intimacy. "That was… various incarnations of Counsellor Troi mostly." he admitted and was shocked that Taryn didn't seem surprised in the slightest. "Did she tell you?"

"No, your pupils dilate when you look at her and you blush a little." she stated. "And your palms sweat."

"Oh, great. Is it that obvious?"

"Not really, and she's gorgeous. I doubt you're the only person on board with a crush on her. But what I really mean is… What rating were the programs?"

"Well I wrote them myself and I wouldn't have a clue how to write a sex subroutine." he admitted softly. "I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm not… I'm… Maybe I should go."

"No don't go. Being innocent isn't a bad thing." she rubbed his arm. "Actually, I find it a little sexy." she smirked.

"Now you're just teasing me." he muttered moodily and swung his legs out of the bed. She knelt behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, rubbing his chest through his t-shirt.

"I love your innocence, your shy vulnerability." she whispered in his ear. "It excites me." Reg recalled programming a holographic Troi to say a similar sentence to him. She admired his confidence, his arrogant resolve. Here he was in the arms of a real woman in nothing but panties, praising his real characteristics and he was pouting like a spoilt child because his ego was bruised and he felt inexperienced. "There's an old Kolari saying…" she almost sang the phrase in alien lilting tones. He rubbed her wrist gently, wondering what sweet thing she was going to say next. "Sorry Data, that wasn't meant for you." She giggled into the nape of Reg's neck. "Those big, broad shoulders of yours set off my transponder."

"What does it mean?" Reg asked as she massaged his neck and shoulders.

"The closest translation is 'the honour of riding an unbroken stallion' I suppose, only it's a winged beast, we don't have quadrupeds we can ride. You are all knots. You need to learn to relax."

"So you like my shoulders?" he enquired over his shoulder, moaning softly as she worked on a particularly tense pair of muscles.

"Hmm. I love them." she whispered. "I love all of you. It doesn't matter that you don't know what a clitoris is. What's important is you found it."

"Oh, so that's what it is." he mused thoughtfully. "I thought that was inside somewhere."

"No that's a G-spot."

"And that's something different?" Reg asked. She nodded briefly. "You know, you can always tell me if there's anything you'd like me to do…grooming wise?"

"How do you mean?" she asked with a frown.

"I could grow a beard if you liked that or if you preferred men smooth chested. I'm not saying I'd have my face rebuilt but I'm happy to oblige." he stated.

"I don't want you to change a thing. Unless you want to change it?" She pulled away. "Are you trying to tell me there's something you want me to change?"

"No, not at all." he assured her as he turned to face her.

"I mean, Green females don't get under-arm and leg hair but… I could get my bikini line done I suppose." She chewed her lip thoughtfully.

"You're hardly a gorilla down below and an adult foo-foo is supposed to have hair on it. Besides it's silky, like cat fur."

"Do you mean that?" Her lower lip quivered precariously.

"Of course I mean it." He told her earnestly. "You're perfect."

"I'm not perfect. My teeth stick out, I'm too short and if I didn't get it straightened my hair would be all frizzy. I'm an ugly freak!" she shrieked and ran into the bathroom.

"Taryn?" Reg asked tentatively at the door. "I'm sorry if I upset you but to me you are perfect."

"Go away!" she shouted through the door.

"I'll take Nefren with me to Data's quarters…" the door slid open, to Reg it almost appeared the door was angry and he backed away as the nubile, topless Green Woman approached him menacingly.

"Are you saying I can't look after him properly?" She glared. Reg stumbled backwards over a chair as she loomed over him, or would have had she been taller.

"No, I'm just offering to give you a break for a few hours. You've hardly had a chance to recover from being exhausted on the Coleridge and Dr Selar told you how dangerous exhaustion can be to Orions…"

"I'm not Orion!" Taryn protested.

"I know but you're heading for burn out. You're studying like it's your finals, training for your competition and you aren't sleeping well. You said yourself it feels like breastfeeding is taking it out of you too." He touched her upper arm gently. "We'll stay at Data's for a couple of feeds and then we'll be back. Eight hours at the most I promise. You can relax and take a bath…"

"I hate baths." she snapped.

"You could go to the Spa…"

"So you do think I need a wax!" she shrieked.

"I never said that!" he protested. "I was thinking you could get your nails done or whatever it is you ladies do there. I don't know." he argued. "Get your pores sucked or something?" He drew a deep breath. "Just take some time out and relax. You know Nefren will be safe with me."

"You said Data has a cat. They can suffocate babies if they sit on them…"

"Remember who you're talking to? Starfleet's most neurotic engineer? I'll rig up a field to keep Spot out of his bassinet." She went to speak again. "And the first sign of any medical problems I'll call Sickbay. I won't take any chances with our Little Man." He held out his hand. "Pinky swear?" She sighed and linked her little finger with his.

"I've got some stored breast milk you can take." she told him and rubbed her face distractedly. "I have been really strung out. I could do with a few hours off."

"Every Mommy needs some 'me' time now and then. You work hard, you deserve some R&R." Reg smiled. "I'm happy to take point for a few hours."

 _Author's note:_

 _I don't own 'The Midwich Cuckoos' or 'The Graduate'_


End file.
